20180622008419A

ON 06/22/2018, AT 0700 CDT, A CESSNA 172L, N7239Q, WAS DESTROYED DURING COLLISION WITH TREES, POWERLINES, TERRAIN AND POST-CRASH FIRE FOLLOWING A LOSS OF CONTROL IN FLIGHT AFTER TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 36 AT DIAMONDHEAD AIRPORT (66Y), DIAMONDHEAD, MISSISSIPPI. THE STUDENT PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE SOLO INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WHICH WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91.

ACCORDING TO THE STUDENT PILOT?S INSTRUCTOR AND ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ OPERATOR OF THE AIRPLANE, THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO CONDUCT SOLO TRAFFIC PATTERN WORK AT 66Y. HE SAID THE STUDENT PILOT WAS TO CONDUCT FULL-STOP LANDINGS AND TAXI BACK TO THE APPROACH END OF THE RUNWAY BEFORE INITIATING THE NEXT TAKEOFF.

A WITNESS STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE APPEARED OVER THE INTERSTATE TRAVELING NORTHBOUND JUST ABOVE TREETOP HEIGHT. HE SAID THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO BE TRAVELING ?SLOWLY.? WITH A MODEL OF AN AIRPLANE IN HIS HAND, THE WITNESS DISPLAYED THE AIRPLANE CROSSING THE ROADWAY AS THE NOSE PITCHED UP FROM A LEVEL PITCH ATTITUDE. ONCE THE AIRPLANE WAS ACROSS THE ROAD AND ABOVE THE TREES ON THE NORTH SIDE, THE NOSE GRADUALLY PITCHED DOWN AS THE AIRPLANE ROLLED TOWARDS ITS LEFT SIDE, AND TURNED LEFT OUT OF VIEW BELOW THE TREES.

PRELIMINARY RADAR DATA DEPICTED FOUR LEFT-HAND TRAFFIC PATTERNS WERE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. THE AIRPLANE WAS FIRST ACQUIRED ON RADAR AT 0628:28. AT 0658:24, NEAR THE CONCLUSION OF THE FOURTH APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE WAS AT 225 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL), AND 1,100 FEET PRIOR TO THE APPROACH END OF THE 3,800-FT RUNWAY. THERE WERE NO FURTHER RADAR TARGETS IDENTIFIED AS THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE. THE WITNESS STATEMENT AND THE PROXIMITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE TO THE RUNWAY PLACE THE AIRPLANE IN AN AREA CONSISTENTLY BELOW RADAR COVERAGE.

THE STUDENT PILOT HELD A 3RD CLASS MEDICAL AND STUDENT PILOT CERTIFICATE; BOTH ISSUED IN SEPTEMBER 2017. A REVIEW OF HIS LOGBOOK REVEALED HE HAD ACCRUED 169.1 TOTAL HOURS OF FLIGHT EXPERIENCE. HIS FIRST SOLO ENDORSEMENT WAS DATED JUNE 12, 2018 AFTER HE HAD ACCRUED 164.9 TOTAL HOURS OF FLIGHT EXPERIENCE.

THE AIRPLANE WAS MANUFACTURED IN 1972. ITS MOST RECENT ANNUAL INSPECTION WAS COMPLETED OCTOBER 1, 2017 AT 4,898.4 TOTAL AIRCRAFT HOURS.

AT 0650, THE WEATHER RECORDED AT STENNIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (HSA), 3 MILES WEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE INCLUDED CLEAR SKIES AND CALM WINDS. THE TEMPERATURE WAS 24°C, AND THE DEW POINT WAS 24°C. THE ALTIMETER SETTING WAS 29.93 INCHES OF MERCURY.

THE WRECKAGE WAS EXAMINED AT THE SITE, AND ALL MAJOR COMPONENTS WERE ACCOUNTED FOR AT THE SCENE. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST UPRIGHT AND WAS ORIENTED 098°. SEVERAL PIECES OF ANGULARLY CUT WOOD, SOME GREATER THAN 8 INCHES IN DIAMETER, WERE SCATTERED AROUND THE AIRPLANE. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT AND POST-CRASH FIRE. THE COCKPIT, CABIN AREA, RIGHT WING, AND THE EMPENNAGE WERE CONSUMED BY FIRE. THE LEFT WING DISPLAYED UNIFORM CRUSHING ALONG THE LEADING EDGE. STRIATION MARKS AND TEARING ALONG THE LEADING EDGE CONSISTENT WITH A WIRE CONTACT WERE VISIBLE. THE TAIL SECTION SHOWED THERMAL DAMAGE BUT REMAINED MOSTLY INTACT.

THE ENGINE WAS EXPOSED, THE PROPELLER REMAINED ATTACHED, AND EACH DISPLAYED SIGNIFICANT THERMAL DAMAGE. THE RIGHT MAGNETO AND OIL FILTER WERE SEPARATED FROM THE ENGINE, AND THE LEFT MAGNETO REMAINED SECURE IN ITS MOUNTS. THE ENGINE WAS ROTATED BY HAND THROUGH THE VACUUM PUMP PAD. CONTINUITY WAS CONFIRMED THROUGH THE ACCESSORY SECTION TO THE VALVETRAIN AND POWER TRAIN. THUMB SUCTION AND COMPRESSION WERE OBSERVED AT ALL CYLINDERS EXCEPT FOR THE NUMBER TWO CYLINDER.

FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS CONFIRMED FROM THE COCKPIT AREA TO THE FLIGHT CONTROL SURFACES OR THEIR ASSOCIATED HARDWARE AND ATTACHMENT POINTS. THE FLAP ACTUATOR JACKSCREW WAS INTACT, AND MEASURED IN ITS AS-FOUND CONDITION. MEASUREMENT OF THE EXPOSED THREADS CORRESPONDED WITH A FULL-FLAP, 40-DEGREE-DEFLECTION SETTING.