N8775X

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 28, 2023, about 1452 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182D, N8775X, was

substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Plymouth, New York.

The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 skydiving flight.

The flight departed from runway 1 at the Lt Warren Eaton Airport (OIC), Norwich, New York, about 1422 with four skydivers on board. ADS-B data indicated that the airplane climbed to about 11,000 ft msl (10,000 ft above ground level). About 1444, when in close proximity to OIC, the pilot informed air traffic control that the four skydivers were away, and then the airplane continued its descent to OIC. A co-owner of the skydiving operation reported that the pilot announced over the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) that he was at 6,000 ft msl descending for downwind. She reported hearing yet another transmission from the pilot but the “…call did not sound like a normal one and I could not identify what he said. I thought by the sound of his voice something was off.” She went outside to spot the airplane then went back into the hangar and attempted to communicate with the pilot, but he did not reply. About 1450, the last ADS-B data point placed the airplane about 1.74 nautical miles west-northwest from the approach end of runway 01 at OIC, flying in a northeasterly direction. The accident location was about .8 nautical mile east-northeast from the last ADS-B data point.

A witness, who was located about 0.9 nautical mile (nm) west-southwest from the accident site, reported she and her husband were looking east and heard a strange noise that was “really close.” She then heard an airplane fly over their house, “very low,” just clearing the tops of nearby trees. As it flew over their house with a view of the left side of the airplane, they heard the engine sputtering, and when the airplane was over trees, the engine shut off. She indicated that the pilot tried to start it. They didn’t hear any more engine sounds and then heard the impact. They could not see where the airplane went down and there were no flames or an explosion. She called 911 to report the accident. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot was a part-time contract pilot for Just Jump SkyDiving, LLC. According to

a co-owner of the airplane/operator, he began flying with them in the Spring of 2022, and flew until the end of October, with some intermittent flying in the winter, weather permitting. They began their 2023 flying “season” in April.

According to the “Flight Competency and Proficiency Checks” paperwork provided by Just Jump SkyDiving, LLC, the pilot’s last recurrent check was performed in the accident airplane on October 8, 2022. The flight time was reported to be 1.3 hours, and the results were marked “Approved.” All items on the form were marked “S” or satisfactory. He was also qualified in their other Cessna 182E.

Inspection of his personal effects located at the operator’s facility revealed a fuel dipstick that was identical to the dipstick located in the accident airplane. There was no conversion chart located in his personal effects, or in the wreckage, to correlate the readings on the stick with actual fuel load in each tank. The operator later provided a copy of the conversion paperwork for the dipstick. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane was equipped with a cellular phone, an iPad for use with the Foreflight application, and an Electronics International engine monitor. The engine monitor did not store non-volatile memory, and the cellular phone did not have any accident-related data. The iPad was accessed, and a ForeFlight application was in the recently used app bin, but potential data was not recovered from the application due to account and user permission restrictions.

According to the airplane Owner’s Manual, the total volume of each wing fuel tank was 32.5 gallons, while the usable amount of fuel in each fuel tank for all flight conditions was 27.5 gallons, resulting in a total usable amount of fuel in all flight conditions of 55.0 gallons. The manual also indicated that in level flight an additional 3.5 gallons of fuel is available, resulting in an unusable fuel load in level flight of 1.5 gallons. One co-owner of the airplane, who had owned it for about 9 months, reported that the typical fuel burn for a skydiving flight was 7 to 9 gallons.

Fuel records indicated that the pilot added 30.3 gallons of 100 low lead fuel to the airplane on May 27, 2023, likely after the first flight of the day. The fuel level in the airplane before he added the fuel is unknown. Two more skydiving flights were flown that day.

A co-owner of the airplane/operator reported the pilot performed a preflight inspection of the airplane about 1000 hours on May 28, 2023, and then flew a skydiving flight lasting about .7 hours, based on the tachometer time. After landing, the pilot used a dipstick and informed one co-owner that the airplane had 40 gallons of fuel. Including the accident flight, the airplane was subsequently flown on two additional skydiving flights, about 12,000 ft msl. The accident flight was the fifth flight since the airplane was refueled.

Located at the accident site was a “Navigation Log” page and a small log each containing handwritten entries. The Navigation Log contained entries including the registration of the accident airplane, winds aloft, date (May 28, 2023), number of flights, “3041.57,” and “fuel,” and two columns immediately beneath it specifying “R23” and “L20.” The small log contained entries including date, numbers consistent with tachometer time out and in, and for one entry of the accident date the accident pilot’s first name. Correlation of the Navigation Log and the small log revealed the entry on the Navigation Log of “3041.57” was consistent with the tachometer start time for the 1st flight of May 28, 2023.

The pilot used a fuel dipstick to assist in determining the fuel level in the tanks. However, the fuel dipstick used was not made for the make and model of the accident airplane. Therefore, a fuel conversion chart was created to indicate how much fuel was actually in the tank when the dipstick was used. A review of the dipstick conversion chart provided by the operator revealed the actual fuel level did not go higher than “19” gallons, and there was no dipstick reading of 23. Correlating the values of 20 and 23 as annotated on the Navigation Log to the conversion chart, either by exact entry or interpolation, resulted in actual fuel levels of 11 gallons and 13.5 gallons, respectively, for a total of 24.5 gallons. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe weather recorded at the Greater Binghamton Airport (BGM), Johnson City, New York, located about 29 miles from the accident site, indicated the temperature and dew point spread was 27°C and 8°C, respectively. According to FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin CE-09-35, Carburetor Icing Prevention, these conditions were conducive for carburetor icing at glide or cruise power. About 1443, the ADS-B data indicated that the airplane began its descent from about 11,000 ft msl and 3 minutes later it descended through 6,000 ft msl, about a 1,666 ft per minute rate of descent. The last ADS-B radar point was about 1450, and the airplane was about 1,500 ft msl. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe airplane was equipped with a cellular phone, an iPad for use with the Foreflight application, and an Electronics International engine monitor. The engine monitor did not store non-volatile memory, and the cellular phone did not have any accident-related data. The iPad was accessed, and a ForeFlight application was in the recently used app bin, but potential data was not recovered from the application due to account and user permission restrictions.

According to the airplane Owner’s Manual, the total volume of each wing fuel tank was 32.5 gallons, while the usable amount of fuel in each fuel tank for all flight conditions was 27.5 gallons, resulting in a total usable amount of fuel in all flight conditions of 55.0 gallons. The manual also indicated that in level flight an additional 3.5 gallons of fuel is available, resulting in an unusable fuel load in level flight of 1.5 gallons. One co-owner of the airplane, who had owned it for about 9 months, reported that the typical fuel burn for a skydiving flight was 7 to 9 gallons.

Fuel records indicated that the pilot added 30.3 gallons of 100 low lead fuel to the airplane on May 27, 2023, likely after the first flight of the day. The fuel level in the airplane before he added the fuel is unknown. Two more skydiving flights were flown that day.

A co-owner of the airplane/operator reported the pilot performed a preflight inspection of the airplane about 1000 hours on May 28, 2023, and then flew a skydiving flight lasting about .7 hours, based on the tachometer time. After landing, the pilot used a dipstick and informed one co-owner that the airplane had 40 gallons of fuel. Including the accident flight, the airplane was subsequently flown on two additional skydiving flights, about 12,000 ft msl. The accident flight was the fifth flight since the airplane was refueled.

Located at the accident site was a “Navigation Log” page and a small log each containing handwritten entries. The Navigation Log contained entries including the registration of the accident airplane, winds aloft, date (May 28, 2023), number of flights, “3041.57,” and “fuel,” and two columns immediately beneath it specifying “R23” and “L20.” The small log contained entries including date, numbers consistent with tachometer time out and in, and for one entry of the accident date the accident pilot’s first name. Correlation of the Navigation Log and the small log revealed the entry on the Navigation Log of “3041.57” was consistent with the tachometer start time for the 1st flight of May 28, 2023.

The pilot used a fuel dipstick to assist in determining the fuel level in the tanks. ...