June 13, 2009, Gilford, N.H., Cessna 177 RG

At about 1614 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing in a hotel parking lot shortly after takeoff. Visual conditions prevailed. The airline transport pilot-the aircrafts new owner-was fatally injured. The previous owner flew the airplane to the maintenance facility for a pre-purchase/annual inspection. All discrepancies were complied with and the airplanes airframe, propeller and engine logbook were signed off to be in an airworthy condition.

Monday, July 27, 2009 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An airplane crashed fatally in a hotel parking lot shortly after takeoff, despite being recently certified as airworthy following a pre-purchase inspection.
Witnesses reported "no engine noise," smoke from the engine, and significant fuel leakage from the wings during the accident sequence.
Post-crash examination revealed no propeller rotation, a longitudinally fractured engine, and only minimal oil (approximately two ounces), strongly indicating an engine failure likely due to oil starvation.

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The previous owner flew the airplane to the maintenance facility for a pre-purchase/annual inspection. All discrepancies were complied with and the airplanes airframe, propeller and engine logbook were signed off to be in an airworthy condition. Numerous witnesses reported there was “no engine noise” during the accident sequence Several witnesses reported seeing “large quantities of fuel” coming out of the wings and seeing smoke from the engine area. There was no rotational scoring on the propeller blades or the spinner. Approximately two ounces of oil were extracted from the engine. The engine was fractured along its entire longitudinal axis; however, there was no evidence of oil in the vicinity of the fracture.