- Date
- July 22, 1996, 18:10 local (23:10 UTC)
- Place
- Memphis, TN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3122CCessna 180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 18, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960722019179A
- Case key
- 3747
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Inadequate annual inspection that resulted in the in-flight loss of the fuel system strainer and subsequent fuel starvation. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was cleared to land on runway 27 at Memphis International Airport. About 1-1/2 miles east of the airport the pilot reported a loss of engine power. The pilot made a forced landing in a parking lot and collided with an automobile and a fence before coming to rest. An inspection revealed that the gascolator was missing, and the required safetywire for the gascolator was not found. The last inspection of the engine was done during the annual inspection in July of 1995. The aircraft had been flown 86 hours since the annual inspection.
Factual narrative
On July 22, 1996, at 1810 central daylight time a Cessna 180, N3122C, collided with a parked automobile and a fence, and was substantially damaged following a forced landing near Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time of the accident, and a flight plan was not filed for the cross country flight. The flight departed Griffin-Spalding County Airport, Griffin, Georgia at 1630 eastern daylight time.
According to the FAA inspector, the pilot was cleared to land on runway 27 at Memphis International Airport. About 1 1/2 miles to the east of the airport the pilot reported a loss of engine power. The pilot made a forced landing in a parking lot and collided with an automobile and a fence before coming to rest. The airplane received damage to the wings, fuselage, and right horizontal stabilizer. An inspection by the FAA inspector revealed that the gascolator was missing, and the required safetywire for the gascolator was not found. The last inspection of the engine was done during the annual inspection in July of 1995. The aircraft had been flown 86 hours since the annual inspection.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3122C
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30921
- Airframe hours
- 3,000
- Engine
- Continental O-470J, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stephen C. Fenner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1995 · 86 hours before
- Departed
- 6A2 · Griffin, GA
- Destination
- MEM
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 33
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 250 in this make and model · 3,500 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MEM, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N3122C · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.