N597K

On January 31, 2022, about 1253 eastern standard time, a Cessna 195 Airplane, N597K, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Palm Coast, Florida. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The airplane departed Spruce Creek Airport (7FL6), Daytona Beach, Florida, about 1239, destined for Flagler Executive Airport (FIN), Palm Coast, Florida.

The pilot stated that before the flight, he performed a normal preflight inspection and flight planning for the flight from 7FL6 to FIN. The pilot advised that he did not take on any fuel as he had enough for the intended flight. After boarding the airplane, the pilot started the engine. The start was normal, and all the instruments indicated everything was normal.

He taxied to runway 24 for takeoff, and while short of the runway he ran the engine at idle for about 5 minutes and verified all instruments were normal. Upon entering the runway for takeoff, he performed a complete run-up procedure and no abnormality was observed. He took off, and upon reaching 1,000 feet above msl, he configured the airplane for cruise.

About 5 miles south of FIN, the engine lost power. The propeller continued to windmill, but produced no power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine without success. The pilot declared an emergency and informed ATC that he would be landing on Interstate 95 (I-95).

While approaching and setting up for landing on I-95, the passenger informed the pilot that he had a semi-trailer truck on his right-side, so the pilot tried to maneuver to his left as much as possible. The right wing then contacted the truck, at which point the pilot lost control. The airplane cartwheeled and came to rest inverted off the right side of I-95.

According to the passenger, while the pilot performed the preflight inspection of the airplane the passenger chatted with some other pilots in the hangar; he did not see the pilot performing the preflight inspection of the airplane. After the preflight was complete, the pilot assisted the passenger in boarding the airplane and getting buckled into the 5-point harness. After engine start, the pilot paused for about 5 minutes to warm up the engine oil and then performed an engine runup. Everything seemed normal.

After takeoff, they turned north towards FIN and climbed to 1,000 feet. As they were approaching the area of the airport, the pilot contacted the control tower. Then they turned east towards the ocean, and the passenger started to talk about how nice it was. While he was speaking, the engine “rumbled,” and it was as if the pilot had throttled back. But the pilot said right away, “I did not do that” and turned towards the north. At this time, they were about 800 feet in altitude.

The pilot immediately committed to landing on I-95, as there were trees everywhere, and told the control tower that “We will be on the highway.” When they were getting ready to land on the highway, the passenger pointed out a truck. When they touched down, they hit the truck. The passenger then closed his eyes as the impact was very violent. When they came to rest, they were upside down and he was “dangling upside down.” The passenger said that he was worried about fire, and they tried to immediately get out of the airplane. Once the passenger was out of the airplane, he did not see any fire or smoke, and there was no smell of fuel.

The passenger advised that a lot of pilots from 7FL6 would go to FIN for lunch and to buy fuel, as it was about 50-cents-per-gallon cheaper than at 7FL6. He believed that the pilot was planning to get fuel there.

The passenger also advised that after the accident the pilot was “absolutely confident” that he enough fuel for the 20-minute flight, and that the pilot said his fuel totalizer showed 23 gallons.

According to the lead recovery specialist, during the wreckage recovery, there was no smell of fuel on scene, except for a slight smell of fuel near the engine. Additionally, no fuel was recovered from the airplane.

The airplane was equipped with an onboard engine monitor that recorded exhaust gas temperature (EGT), cylinder head temperature (CHT), and shock cooling rate. The engine monitor’s device time was programmed by the pilot.

The airplane’s onboard engine monitor was downloaded by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Recorders Laboratory. The data extracted included 21 sessions from April 15, 2021, through January 31, 2022. All parameters were recorded at a rate of one sample every six seconds. The accident flight was the last flight of the recording, and its duration was approximately 25 minutes. The device began recording at an approximate device time (dt) of 12:42:46. The last recorded parameter was as at 13:07:40 dt on January 31, 2022.

Review of the extracted data from the accident flight indicated that after 13:06:00 dt, the EGT rapidly decreased, the shock cooling rate rapidly increased, and the CHT rapidly decreased.

The fuel totalizer would have measured with high resolution the amount of fuel that flowed into the engine. Before the flight, though, the pilot would have had to enter into the unit the known quantity of fuel aboard, and then it would keep track of all fuel delivered to the engine.

Examination of the airplane and engine revealed no preimpact malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Additionally, the fuel strainer and the carburetor float chamber were absent of fuel.