- Date
- August 27, 1999, 15:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mountain City, TN
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7566MCessna 175
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 2, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990827041729A
- Case key
- 47222
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
A blocked fuel system vent that resulted in fuel starvation and the complete loss of engine power.
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 reported that after completing a normal preflight inspection of the airplane, he rolled the airplane out of the hangar for the flight. A normal engine run-up was completed, and the initial takeoff to climb was also normal. Shortly after liftoff, the pilot reported a loss of engine power. The pilot selected a corn field on the departure end of the runway for an emergency landing. After landing in the field, the airplane collided with a fence and flipped inverted. The examination of the airplane and engine assembly failed to disclose a component failure. However, during the examination of the fuel system, a wasp nest was found in the fuel system vent.
Factual narrative
On August 27, 1999, at 1500 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 175, N7566M, collided with a fence during a forced landing in a corn field following a complete loss of engine power in Mountain City, Tennessee. The personal flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot received serious injuries, and his passenger received minor injuries. The flight initially departed Johnson County Airport in Mountain City, Tennessee, at 1455.
The pilot reported that after completing a normal preflight of the airplane, he rolled the airplane out of the hangar for the flight. A normal engine run-up was completed, and the initial takeoff to climb was also normal. Shortly after liftoff from runway 24, the pilot reported a loss of engine power. The pilot selected a corn field on the departure end of runway 24 for an emergency landing. After landing in the field, the airplane collided with a fence and flipped inverted.
The examination of the airplane and engine assembly failed to disclose a component failure. However, during the examination of the fuel system, a wasp nest was found in the fuel system vent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7566M
- Reported as
- Cessna 175
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 55866
- Airframe hours
- 3,413
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Roger M. Winebarger
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 30, 1999 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- 6A4
- Airport
- A64 · Johnson County Airport, runway 24, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 750 total · 750 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TRI, 30 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.