HARRISBURG, Pa. — The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report regarding a fatal plane crash along the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
On May 31, 2023, the Cessna 180, N3178D, was damaged when it was involved in a crash near Harrisburg. The airline transport pilot was seriously injured and the passenger was killed.
The NTSB determined that the pilot's inadequate preflight fuel planning and improper in-flight decision-making were probable causes of the incident. Fuel exhaustion resulted in a total loss of engine power and a subsequent collision with the turnpike.
The report states that the airplane was on its final leg of a 3-leg, cross-country flight originating from the pilot's home airport in Fredericksburg.
Before the pilot's departure, the airport owner reportedly observed the pilot servicing his airplane with fuel. Preliminary information revealed the pilot flew for about 1.2 hours before landing the airplane at Brokenstraw Airport in Pittsfield, Pa.
The airport's owner recalled seeing a "Cessna 180 or 185" and was certain that the airplane was not serviced with fuel.
The airplane then departed around 10:28 a.m. and flew for about 1.2 hours before the pilot landed at a private grass strip in Rowlesburg, West Virginia. In a phone conversation, the property owner said that he was not on the property that day, but that fuel was not available at his airstrip.
The plane then departed the grass strip at about 1:24 p.m. and flew about 1.2 hours before the track data ended in the vicinity of the crash site at 2:35 p.m.
The pilot was receiving visual flight rules following services when he announced an intention to divert to Capital City Airport (CXY), which was about nine miles ahead of the airplane along its route of flight.
Within five miles of CXY, the pilot announced the airplane had experienced engine failure. The airplane was aligned for landing on runway 08 when it collided with terrain and a utility vehicle one mile short of the runway in a highway interchange toll plaza.
In written statements, several witnesses described the engine sound as "erratic, sputtering, cutting in and out [and] losing power, then it would come back and go off again," as the airplane passed overhead the crash site.
The pilot reportedly held airline transport pilot, flight engineer, and flight instructor certificates with multiple ratings in single—and multi-engine airplanes. Three weeks after the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspectors interviewed him.
The pilot allegedly stated that he filled the airplane's fuel tanks to the "brim," ensuring the full 55-gallon useable fuel load.
The pilot stated that, according to the airplane’s Hobbs meter, the first leg was 1.3 hours in duration, the second was 1.4 hours, and that he did not service the airplane with fuel at either stop. The pilot said that, while en route on the final 165-nautical-mile leg, he considered stopping at Carlisle Airport (N94) for fuel, but decided to continue an additional 15 miles to CXY due to his concern about fuel availability at N94.
Records revealed that fuel was available and dispensed at N94 on the day of the accident.
Shortly after passing directly over the top of N94 at 3,500 ft. in a cruise configuration, the airplane’s engine lost power. The pilot’s remedial actions failed to restore engine power, and he selected an interstate highway for his forced landing site but he was unable to recall events after that.
The pilot added that he completed three takeoffs and climbs to cruise altitudes that varied between 3,000 ft. and 5,500 ft. mean sea level and that his estimated fuel requirements were based on a fuel consumption rate of 12 gph.
According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1955 and was powered by a Continental O-470-J, 225-horsepower engine. The airplane’s most recent annual inspection was completed on Oct. 24, 2022, at 5,089 total aircraft hours.
The engine compartment was displaced to the right and forced back into the cockpit area, the NSTB report states.
The firewall and instrument panel were destroyed. A significant amount of structure was cut and moved by rescue personnel to extract the occupants.
A mechanic confirmed control continuity from the flight controls to all the flight control surfaces before removing the wings to transport the wreckage.
According to the report, there was no evidence of fuel or fuel spillage at the site, but there was an odor of fuel present. The engine exhibited minimal impact damage.
The victim was later identified by Dauphin County officials as Lawrence Sager, 74, of Harrisburg. Sager died of injuries sustained in the crash at 4:52 p.m. at UPMC Harrisburg Hospital.
