ERA10LA059

The pilot performed a preflight inspection of the airplane before starting the engine and letting it warm up for about 5 minutes. He then back-taxied on the runway and performed the run-up checklist before taking off. He subsequently flew the traffic pattern and was on final approach, at an altitude of about 500 feet, when the engine lost power about 250 feet from the end of the runway. The airplane then “went into a right hand dive and hit the ground.” A witness heard the engine “sputter and pop loudly,” and a Federal Aviation Administration inspector subsequently found water in the fuel. Propeller signatures indicated that it was turning under power when it contacted the ground.

On November 8, 2009, about 1000 central standard time, a Cessna A188B, N9368G, was substantially damaged during a forced landing while on final approach to Ripley Airport (25M), Ripley, Mississippi. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the local personal flight, which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to the pilot, he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane before starting the engine and letting it warm up for about 5 minutes. He then back-taxied on runway 3, and performed the run-up checklist before taking off. He subsequently flew the traffic pattern and was on final approach, at an altitude of about 500 feet, when the engine lost power about 250 feet from the end of the runway. The airplane then “went into a right hand dive and hit the ground.” One witness, who was sitting on his sofa in his house, heard the airplane “sputter and pop loudly.” After that, he “did not hear the engine and assumed the plane went down.” When he went outside, he “saw the airplane sitting adjacent to [his] house.” Another witness was in a field when he saw the airplane fly over, “and heard the plane sputtering and cutting out.” When he spoke to the pilot, the pilot stated that “the engine had lost power.” According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, an on-scene examination of the airplane revealed that the right wing and the engine were separated from the airplane, that there was no fuel in the left wing tank, and that the little fuel that could be found was contaminated with water. According to a sheriff’s department report, the responding officer noted that fuel was “leaking…from the wing and was on the ground” when he arrived. Accident photographs revealed that one of the two propeller blades was almost straight, but exhibited chordwise scratching, significant leading edge burnishing in one area, and curling at the blade tip with part of the tip torn off. The other propeller blade exhibited chordwise scratching, some s-bending along most of its length, and severe s-bending and curling at the blade tip. The FAA inspector noted that due to the pilot relinquishing his certificate, no further examination of the airplane was conducted. The pilot, age 43, held a private pilot certificate with a single engine land rating, and reported 394 hours of total flight time. Winds, recorded at an airport 29 nautical miles southeast of the accident site, at 1001, were from 060 degrees true, at 11 knots.