At 2249 Eastern time, the airplane collided with a tree and the ground during a forced landing. Visual conditions prevailed. The flight instructor and private pilot located in the left front seat were killed. The rear seat passenger received serious injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage. At 2243, after cancelling IFR, the pilot changed his destination to a nearby airport. At 2244, the pilot declared an emergency but did not state what the emergency was. Two witnesses observed the airplane flying towards their home at tree-top level. The engine was whistling like a fan. The airplane made a steep right turn over a race track located near the house, then struck the top of a tree and descended nose down over a logging truck and collided with a ditch/culvert. The airplane bounced, went through a barbed wire fence, spun around and came to rest facing back toward the trailer and was adjacent to the road. The right-wing fuel cap was intact with a tight seal. The fuel tank was not ruptured and no browning of vegetation was present. One quart of fuel was drained from the right main fuel tank. The left-wing fuel cap also was intact with a tight seal. The fuel tank was not ruptured and no browning of vegetation was present. Two and one half gallons of fuel was drained from the left main fuel tank.
September 24, 2010, Chatsworth, Ga., Cessna 172
At 2249 Eastern time, the airplane collided with a tree and the ground during a forced landing. Visual conditions prevailed. The flight instructor and private pilot located in the left front seat were killed. The rear seat passenger received serious injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage.
Key Takeaways:
- An airplane crashed during a forced landing at 2249 ET, resulting in the deaths of the flight instructor and private pilot, and serious injuries to a rear passenger.
- The pilot declared an emergency at 2244 after changing destination, and witnesses observed the plane flying at tree-top level with a "whistling" engine sound before it struck a tree.
- Post-crash inspection revealed only small amounts of fuel (1 quart in the right tank, 2.5 gallons in the left) with no evidence of tank rupture or fuel spillage.
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