# NTSB IAD99FA043: Cessna 205, N8157Z, Celina, OH, May 9, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Field investigation · Final report - Date: May 9, 1999, 18:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: Celina, OH - Coordinates: 40.55072, -84.570854 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.5507&lon=-84.5709&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 6 fatal - Status: Completed, report November 2, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 46299 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD99FA043 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/46299/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD99FA043 ## Probable cause was the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a loss of engine power. Also causal to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control after the power loss. A factor in the accident was a lack of published operational or safety procedures for the parachute club and the operator's failure to verify the pilot's medical qualifications. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, takeoff - initial climb - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - fuel consumption calculations - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - procedures/directives - information insufficient, company/operator management (contributing factor) - Loss of control - in flight, emergency landing after takeoff - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled ## Analysis The airplane departed on a parachuting flight with 5 parachutists on board. Several witnesses reported hearing the airplane during climb out. Each witness described smooth engine noise, brief 'sputtering,' and then a total loss of engine power. The airplane descended straight ahead at the same pitch attitude, then the nose dropped, a parachutist exited, and the airplane entered a spiraling descent. Two more jumpers exited the airplane before ground contact. A review of jump logs and conversation with the operator revealed the pilot flew three lifts of jumpers to approximately 10,000 feet. Each lift was approximately 30 minutes in duration. The accident flight occurred during the fourth lift. The airplane departed on its first lift with 30 gallons of fuel. No fuel was dispensed into the airplane between the first and fourth lift. At the scene, 8 ounces of fuel were drained from the selected tank, and a leak test revealed no leaks. Examination revealed that all fuel system components were operational and there were no pre-impact anomalies. A request for a jump club SOP revealed that no such document existed. The club operator reported that club operations were at his direction. ## Factual narrative HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 9, 1999, at 1800 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 205, N8157Z, operated by Grand Lake Skydiving, was destroyed during a collision with terrain following a forced landing after takeoff from the Lakefield Airport (CQA), Celina, Ohio. The certificated commercial pilot and five parachutists were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the parachuting flight that originated at CQA. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. Several witnesses reported hearing the airplane during climb out. They described smooth uninterrupted engine noise. Each witness described smooth engine noise, brief "sputtering," and then a total loss of engine power. One witness who was standing across the road from the accident site when he noticed the airplane, stated: "We came out of the house and I watched it cause it looked low. The engine sounded normal. All of a sudden it started to sputter. He kept on climbing while the engine was sputtering. When the engine was sputtering he was still trying to climb. He wasn't going very fast and he was lower than normal. Then the engine quit and the nose kind of went over. As soon as the airplane started its dive, the one guy jumped out. Part of the chute came out but it didn't open." With a model of an airplane in his hand, the witness demonstrated a slightly nose-up climbing motion. He described the engine sputtering and the airplane descending straight down at the same pitch attitude. The witness said the nose dropped, a parachutist exited, and the airplane entered a spiraling descent. He said two more jumpers exited the airplane before ground contact. A member of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was with his brother when both witnessed the accident. They were approximately 1/2 mile north of the airplane's departure path. The CAP member was an aircraft owner and private pilot with approximately 450 hours of flight experience. He said: "That airplane, with a constant-speed propeller and a lot of horsepower, makes a lot of noise. I mean it goes 'baaaah'." I know he was climbing out because of the noise. The engine sounded great. She was cranking real good. It sputtered twice, 'B-dat, B-dat', and then nothing, pure silence. I ran to where I could see the plane and it was in a spin. It spun twice before the jumper came out. The jumper came out about two hundred feet. I knew when he came out that they weren't high enough. The plane came straight down. There was no forward motion. He had all that field in front of him. Why in the heck he didn't get the nose down, I don't know." According to the CAP member's brother: "We heard the airplane and he was climbing out. You can tell. The engine sputtered and just stopped. We said, 'Oh, he's in trouble.' We ran about 50 yards where we could see the airplane. The airplane was in a flat-type spin. It was a slow rotation and kind of pancaked the ground. What bothered me so much was that I had plenty of time to watch it. I saw a person exit too, and I saw the streamer of the chute. The undeployed chute, I guess you could say. He was about 300 feet. You know, that engine, it sounded like your lawnmower running out of gas. One moment you're wide open and the next, boom, your done." A fourth witness said: "The airplane was going east. We heard it sputter, then it was silent. It didn't look like he was climbing and he didn't look that high. The airplane just kinda hung there. It just hung there for a minute. Then it just fell, like it was on a string and someone cut the string. Then it spiraled down. The aircraft was already spinning when we saw that guy jump out." With a model of an airplane in her hand, the witness demonstrated a slow spinning motion with the airplane in a flat attitude. A fifth witness said he observed the takeoff and initial climb. He said: "I heard the engine running and I was watching him. He rotated about where they usually rotate. The engine sounded fine. He was climbing about 700 feet per minute. It was running good, in a good climb, about a normal flight attitude." According to the operator of Grand Lake Skydiving, the pilot was hired the day of the accident. He briefed the pilot on refueling procedures and how to measure fuel quantity in the tanks with a measuring stick. The operator said he briefed and demonstrated flight characteristics, flight patterns, and jump procedures to the pilot in the airplane. He said the pilot then performed three takeoffs and landings during a 1.3 hour familiarization flight. After the flight, fuel was added and the pilot began flying parachutists. According to the operator, the added fuel brought the total fuel on board to 30 gallons. A review of jump logs and conversations with the operator revealed the pilot flew three lifts of jumpers to approximately 10,000 feet. Each lift was approximately 30 minutes in duration. The accident flight occurred during the fourth lift. No fuel was dispensed into N8157Z between the first and fourth lift. The accident occurred during the hours of daylight approximately 40 degrees, 29 minutes north latitude, and 84 degrees, 33 minutes west longitude. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot held a commercial pilot's certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land and instrument airplane. The pilot also held a private pilot's certificate for airplane multi-engine land; visual flight rules only. The pilot was issued the commercial pilot's certificate on May 1, 1999. On May 1, 1999, the pilot was also issued an FAA Form 8060-5, Notice of Disapproval of Application for a commercial multi-engine IFR certificate. The pilot's most recent FAA third class medical certificate was issued July 9, 1997. According to Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 61.39: "...to be eligible for a practical test for a certificate or rating issued under this part, an applicant must: Hold at least a current third class medical certificate, if a medical certificate is required." A review of the pilot's logbook and a completed NTSB Form 6120.1/2, Pilot/Operator Report revealed the pilot had 277 hours of flight experience. He recorded 190 hours of single-engine experience and 86 hours in multi-engine airplanes. The pilot had 2.3 hours of flight experience in the Cessna 205. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The airplane was registered as a 1962 Cessna 210-5 (205). The registration certificate was issued February 21, 1995. On that date, the airplane was equipped with a Continental IO-470 series engine. According to the registration certificate, the IO-470 produced 260 horsepower and had a fuel consumption rate of 19.50 gallons per hour. The airplane was subsequently equipped with Continental IO-520 series engine that produced 285 horsepower. An approved FAA Form 337 for the engine upgrade was issued July 21, 1998. The airplane was on an annual inspection program. The last inspection was performed July 21, 1998, and the airplane had flown 59 hours since that date. The airplane had accumulated 5,164 hours of total flight time. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION Clear skies and variable winds at 4 knots were reported in Lima, Ohio, at the Lima Allen County Airport, 28 miles east of CQA. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The airplane was examined at the scene on May 10, 1999. There was no odor of fuel and all major components were accounted for at the scene. The airplane came to rest at the point of initial ground contact in an open field approximately 1/2 mile long and 1/4 mile wide. According to the Ohio State Police, three jumpers were found outside the airplane, and were separated from it by distances of 15, 21, and 63 feet respectively. The parachutist at 63 feet was found with his parachute partially deployed. The three-bladed propeller was separated from the engine and partially buried in its impact crater. The bottom of the ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8157Z](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8157Z-2000-05-01), registration cancelled 2000-05-01, S/N 205-0157 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 205 - Registry model: [Cessna 210-5(205)](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-210-5-205) (registry code 2073202) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2050157 - Airframe hours: 5164 - Engines: Continental IO-520-DCA 285 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Skydiving, Part 91 - Operator: Robert J. Tangeman, doing business as Grand Lake Skydiving - Registered owner: Robert J. Tangeman - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 21, 1998, 59 hours before - Departed: CQA - Airport: CQA, Lakefield Airport, runway 8, 3,794 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 30; commercial, private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 277 total, 2 in this make and model, 193 as pilot in command, 71 in the last 90 days, 33 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: variable at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: AOH, 28 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19990509004719A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990509004719A), May 9, 1999: Cessna 2105, Celina, OH, Destroyed, 6 fatal. Acft crashed shortly after take-off for unknown reasons, the pilot and 5 skydivers all suffered fatal injuries, the acft was destroyed. Ydivers all suffered… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.