N4041J

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On January 11, 2012, at 1000 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150G, N4041J, operated by TENLE Aviation, was substantially damaged during an impact with terrain following a loss of engine power during initial climb near Fitchburg Municipal Airport (FIT), Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The certificated flight instructor received minor injuries and the student pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91.

According to the flight instructor, he and the student met up that morning at Minute Man Air Field (6B6), Stow, Massachusetts, for the instructional flight in the accident airplane. During preflight, the student pilot noticed that the power cord for the engine preheat was in the oil service door but was not plugged in. The outside air temperature at the time was -01 degree Celsius and the engine was cold. He then plugged in the preheater and continued preparing the airplane for the flight lesson. There was frost on the windows, which the student pilot cleaned off. The wings and horizontal stabilizer did not however have any frost on them, as they had been covered.

About 30 minutes later they disconnected the preheater, then got into the airplane and attempted to start it, but it did not start and it took them 4 or 5 attempts with increasing operation of the primer before the engine started. They next taxied to runway 3, and did the pretakeoff checks. During the runup both the magneto check and carburetor heat check were normal and both checks resulted in an rpm drop that was within limits. They then departed for FIT.

After arriving at FIT the student pilot did a touch and go landing, and then entered the traffic pattern to perform another one. Then while on the downwind leg the engine began to run rough so he had the student apply carburetor heat. Then during the climb after the second touch and go landing, the engine began to run rough. The flight instructor took control of the airplane, lowered the angle of attack, and applied carburetor heat by pulling out the carburetor heat knob. The engine "immediately ran rougher" and the flight instructor pushed in the carburetor heat knob. The engine then ran "less rough" but still ran rough.

The flight instructor then looked over the nose and observed that he had a minimal amount of runway left and that a tractor was also off the end of the runway. He decided that there was not enough runway to land. He was not sure how much power the engine was producing or if he could maintain level flight. He thought about turning back but decided against it. He felt that he was "low and slow' and decided to continue straight ahead. He tried to keep the airplane flying and was successful for about 15 to 20 seconds but then he observed a warehouse ahead of them and banked to the right to avoid it. The airplane then settled and struck trees.

According to the student pilot, he arrived early for his lesson to conduct preflight activities. He indicated that it was a cold morning and had looked at the Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) for weather information. He removed and stowed the wing covers and conducted a walk around inspection. When checking the oil level he noted that the engine pre-heat cord had come unplugged overnight. He reconnected the power cord and completed his preflight. No other issues were noted by him.

He indicated that cold weather starting procedures were utilized, which included priming and pulling the propeller through by hand. It took several attempts to start the engine. The engine was warmed up for several minutes prior to conducting the magneto checks. It was noted that the engine revolutions per minute (RPM) dropped 75 to 100 RPM when each magneto was checked, and when carburetor heat was applied, a 100 RPM drop was noted.

They departed 6B6 at approximately 0900 and headed West toward FIT. They approached FIT on a 45 degree downwind for Runway 32 for their first planned Touch and Go. As they turned onto the downwind leg, he noted that the engine briefly exhibited a hesitation. He applied the Carburetor Heat at that point, and kept it on until touchdown.

After conducting a second Touch and Go he noted that after takeoff, the RPM was slowly dropping and the engine was rough. He stated that their altitude at the time was 100 feet above mean sea level (msl). The flight instructor then took the controls from him and applied carburetor heat, which made the engine roughness worse. The flight instructor "immediately" placed the Carburetor Heat to “Off” and pumped the throttle several times in an attempt to get the engine to smooth out. The student pilot then began looking for a place that they could attempt a landing and pointed out the dirt parking lot directly ahead of them, and then they banked to avoid a warehouse, and landed on some trees before settling to the ground.

According to a witness, the airplane was observed at low altitude not much higher than the surrounding buildings. The engine was sputtering and also was much quieter than other airplanes that he had observed. Just prior to impact, the aircraft smoothly banked to the right and disappeared from his view. According to another witness who also observed the airplane, he heard the engine "sputtering", and "popping", and from his vantage point, he observed that it was in a nose high attitude, swaying from side to side, and "coming down fast" just prior to him hearing the sound of the airplane impacting the trees.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and pilot records, the flight instructor held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multi-engine land and instrument airplane. He also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single, airplane multi, and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on November 22, 2011. He reported 1,391 total hours of flight experience with 131 total hours in the accident airplane make and model.

According to FAA and pilot records, the student pilot had accrued approximately 20 total hours of flight experience in the accident airplane. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on June 17, 2010.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The accident airplane was a two place, strut braced, high wing airplane of conventional metal construction. It was designed for flight training, air touring, and personal use. It was equipped with tricycle landing gear and powered by an air cooled, 100 horsepower, Continental O-200-A, engine, driving a fixed pitch propeller.

According to the flight instructor, since his purchase of the airplane in August of 2011, he had a number of maintenance issues related to navigation, communication, the vacuum system, and the engine starter. He also advised that he had recent trouble with the carburetor heat sticking, and that the engine had been overhauled shortly before he had purchased the airplane.

The student pilot stated that had not noted any major maintenance issues. He had added oil as needed during preflights. He indicated that early in his flight training, he was noting water in fuel sump samples that he took as part of his preflight activities. The flight instructor subsequently had the overwing fuel cap seals replaced which rectified the problem. He also stated that a radio had been missing from the panel for awhile, the attitude indicator at times was unresponsive, the vacuum system indicated low at times, and the left and right fuel tank quantity gauges did not indicate the fuel quantity that was visually observed in the fuel tanks.

According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1966. The airplane’s most recent annual inspection was completed on August 11, 2011. At the time of the inspection; the engine had accrued 105 hours of operation since major overhaul and the airplane had accrued 4,725.3 total hours of operation.

On November 4, 2011, the carburetor airbox, valve shaft, and bearings, were replaced along with installation of a new carburetor heat cable.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The recorded weather at FIT, at 0952, about 8 minutes prior to the accident, included: calm winds, 10 miles visibility, overcast clouds at 10,000 feet, temperature 0 degrees C, dew point - 04 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.12 inches of mercury. The relative humidity was 72%.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

Fitchburg Municipal Airport was uncontrolled and had two runways configured in a 2/20 and 14/32 configuration. Runway 32 was asphalt, in good condition. It was marked with non-precision runway markings and total length was 4510 feet long and 100 feet wide. Obstructions existed off the departure end of 32 in the form of 50 foot high trees, 600 feet from the runway, 125 feet right of centerline, which took an 8:1 slope to clear.

FLIGHT RECORDERS

The airplane was not equipped with a flight recorder nor was it required to be under the CFRs. The student however had a Contour Nflightcam onboard which was capable of recording video and contained a built-in global positioning system (GPS) which was capable of recording speed, elevation, and distance.

Examination of data captured from the accident flight revealed that no video or audio was recorded. However, the video did come on after the airplane struck trees and came to rest.

According to the captured GPS data, the airplane touched down in the first 1/3rd of the runway at approximately 09:57:51. Then after passing midfield, the airplane became airborne once again and accelerated until reaching a peak recorded GPS altitude of 500 feet and a peak recorded groundspeed of approximately 56 knots. Shortly thereafter, the airplane began to decelerate and descend, and at 09:59:51 had decelerated to a ground speed of approximately 40 knots. Impac...