- Date
- October 7, 1999, 19:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Frankfort, KY
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N29362Cessna 177
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report November 30, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19991007043379A
- Case key
- 47746
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 total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons
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
On approach to the airport, the engine lost all power, and the pilot performed a forced landing to a field. The pilot stated that the airplane had a Supplemental Type Certificate for automobile gasoline. Before the flight, the pilot added 15 gallons of automobile gasoline to the airplane. He thought he originally purchased the gasoline at an automotive gas station. The pilot believed that the fuel filter became clogged as a result of fuel contamination. Additionally, the airplane's engine had approximately 2,100 hours of operating time since its last remanufacture, about 24 years before the accident date. A FAA Inspector did not find any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. He did observe fuel in both fuel tanks, but did not find any debris in the fuel filter.
Factual narrative
On October 7, 1999, about 1945 Eastern Daylight Time, a Cessna 177, N29362, was substantially damaged during a forced landing at Frankfort, Kentucky. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight departed Willow Island Airpark, Finchville, Kentucky; and was destined for Capital City Airport (FFT), Frankfort, Kentucky.
According to the pilot's written statement:
"...About 3 or 4 miles west of the Frankfort Airport the engine quit...I landed [in a field] going up hill and the nose gear folded on the way down the other side. The prop had stopped before we landed and wasn't bent. We got out and walked away."
During a telephone interview, the pilot stated that the airplane had a Supplemental Type Certificate for automobile gasoline. He added 15 gallons of automobile gasoline to the airplane before the flight. The pilot originally purchased the gasoline at an automobile gas station. He believed the fuel filter became clogged due to fuel contamination.
The pilot submitted a National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report Form. According to the form, the airplane's engine was remanufactured on November 19, 1975. At the time of the accident, it had approximately 2,100 hours of operating time since the date of remanufacture.
Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions. The Inspector observed fuel in both fuel tanks. He did not find any debris in the fuel filter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29362
- Reported as
- Cessna 177
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17700840
- Airframe hours
- 4,100
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ben Kennedy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 1998 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- 58KY · Finchville, KY
- Destination
- FFT
- Airport
- FFT · Capital City Airport
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
- 51
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 13,000 total · 200 in this make and model · 12,000 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 100° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FFT, 2 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.