NTSB releases preliminary report on West Nashville plane crash that killed Canadian family of 5
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A new report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed new details about the circumstances surrounding the deadly March 4 plane crash on the side of a West Nashville interstate.
The five members of the Dotsenko family, of Canada, were identified as the victims of the deadly crash, which saw the plane cross over Interstate 40 East in West Nashville before crashing behind the Costco store. The plane was piloted by Victor Dotsenko, 43, who was flying with his wife, Rimma, 39, and their three children, 12-year-old David, 10-year-old Adam, and 7-year-old Emma.
5 dead in small plane crash near I-40E in West Nashville
According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), the control tower at John C. Tune Airport received a message from Victor at 7:40 p.m. saying he was experiencing engine and power failure and needed emergency approval to land. Officials gave that approval, telling him he was cleared to land on Runway 2, but Victor radioed back the plane wasn’t going to make it.
Witnesses reported the plane was coming over the I-40 area from the north and crossed over the lanes of the interstate before crashing on a grassy median, according to authorities.
911 calls detail urgency, confusion after West Nashville plane crash
Since the crash, both the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been investigating the reasons why the plane went down and the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Investigators moved the wreckage from the side of the interstate to an aviation facility in Springfield in order to conduct an examination to determine the cause of the engine failure.
Investigators combing through wreckage of deadly Nashville plane crash
On Friday, March 22, the NTSB released its preliminary report about the investigation into the crash.
According to officials, the Piper PA-32RT-300T departed from Brampton-Caledon Airport (CNC3) in Canada at approximately 12:22 p.m. CT on March 4 and arrived at Erie International Airport/Tom Ridge Field (ERI) in Pennsylvania about an hour later, where the pilot added 11 gallons of fuel to each wing fuel tank for a total of 22 gallons. About 90 minutes later, the plane departed and flew to Mount Sterling/Montgomery County Airport (IOB) in Kentucky, where the pilot added a total of 52.1 gallons of fuel.
The NTSB said the crash occurred during the third flight leg of the day, which was from IOB to John C. Tune Airport (JWN) in Nashville, about 180 miles away. Preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data provided by the FAA indicated the plane departed around 7:15 p.m. and climbed to an “enroute altitude” of 10,500 feet above mean sea level (msl), but the pilot didn’t notify air traffic control of any concerns or irregularities during the enroute portion of the flight.
“As the airplane transitioned through the airspace surrounding Nashville International Airport (BNA) on the way to JWN, the pilot communicated with an approach controller before being handed off to the JWN tower controller in preparation for landing. After descent, the airplane leveled off at 2,500 ft msl about 2.5 miles away from JWN, with its flight track roughly aligned with the runway 20 final approach course (see figure 1),” the NTSB’s report states. “The pilot did not land, and instead overflew the airport at 2,500 ft on a track of 200°. The JWM controller handed the pilot back to the BNA controller because the pilot elected to overfly the airport for unknown reasons and was in BNA airspace at that altitude. The BNA controller remained in contact with the pilot through the rest of the flight.”
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The pilot reportedly radioed a faint transmission that his engine had shut down, which was followed by garbled frequency congestion that the controller didn’t acknowledge. When the BNA controller asked the pilot if he planned to land at JWN, officials said the pilot responded, “My engine turned off, I’m at one thousand, six hundred,” followed by “I’m going to be landing, I don’t know where.”
The airplane descended 1,200 feet msl when the controller declared an emergency and cleared the pilot to land on Runway 2, according to the NTSB. The pilot indicated he had the runway in sight, but was he too far away to make it. That was his last communication.
Based on video recordings from residential surveillance and vehicular traffic cameras, the plane descended over a neighborhood before passing over I-40, where it impacted the eastbound shoulder before it hit an embankment and caught fire about two miles south of the approach end of Runway 2 at JWM, officials said.
AUDIO: Air traffic control audio details moments before deadly Nashville plane crash
Multiple witnesses reported hearing the plane as it passed overhead, adding that prior to impact, the plane sounded like it was having engine issues, with one witness stating the engine was “sputtering and making popping sounds,” per the NTSB report.
“The wreckage path was oriented on a heading of about 076° magnetic with the nose of the airplane oriented on a 273° magnetic heading. The wreckage field extended about 75 ft long with the initial impact point consisting of a 6-ft-long ground scar (see figure 2),” the report explains. “The gouge contained red position light lens and the left wingtip was resting adjacent to the initial impact point. During the accident sequence, the left fuel tank was breached, and a large postimpact fire engulfed the airplane, which largely consumed the left wing and fuselage.”
Officials said all of the plane’s major components were found in the immediate vicinity of the crash site. The airframe stayed upright, and the engine was found inverted, damaged by the impact, and exposed to heat, but it was relatively intact. The impact and thermal damage was limited to the accessory section on the aft part of the engine.
The NTSB’s report offered a full account of the damage sustained by the various parts of the plane, noting that the information is preliminary and subject to change:
The cockpit and cabin were destroyed by impact forces and fire, and most flight instrumentation and gauges were destroyed by impact and fire; the vertical speed indicator read -400 FPM and the manifold pressure/fuel flow gauge that was heavily fire damaged indicated 15 inches manifold pressure and zero gallons per hour fuel flow. The airplane was equipped with an electronic engine monitor that was heavily fire damaged, however, the internal components were relatively intact and retained for further examination.
The propeller blades (3) remained attached to the hub and engine at the propeller flange. Two of the blades exhibited little to no chordwise scraping with one of the blades having a slight forward bend and minor polishing. There were no leading edge gouges. One of the blades was bent aft mid span about 60°. The propeller spinner was crushed and lacked rotational damage signatures. The propeller governor remained attached to the engine at the mounting pad. The propeller governor control linkage remained attached to the control arm.
The engine crankshaft was rotated by hand through numerous rotations beyond 720°, and compression and suction were observed on all cylinders. There was no grinding or limitations to movement and crankshaft continuity was confirmed. Valve actuation was confirmed. There was oil throughout the engine and in the oil sump, the oil filter was free of ferrous material or debris; the oil filter screen contained some unknown foreign debris but was not obstructed. A borescope was inserted through the top spark plug holes and no anomalies were observed on the piston faces, valve faces or cylinder walls. The turbocharger was found intact, rotated smoothly when spun by hand. There was no damage to the compressor or bearings, nor was there any oil staining or discoloration. The unit remained attached to the engine via its mount and the attached turbine manifolds/air intake.
Both left and right magnetos were manually operated with a drill at low rpm through high rpm, both magnetos produced blue/purple spark at all the posts and at every rotation speed. All the spark plugs displayed normal coloration and normal electrodes as compared to the Champion Aerospace AV-27 Check-A-Plug chart.
The fuel injector lines were tested via compressed air into the fuel line coming in from the fuel servo. Fuel was pushed out of cylinder Nos. 1, 3, and 5. No fuel was pushed out of Nos. 2, 4, and 6. There were no obstructions in the engine fuel lines. The No. 5 fuel injector nozzle contained a small amount of debris that did not inhibit the fuel nozzle opening and all other fuel injector nozzles were clear. The engine driven fuel pump was operationally tested with no anomalies noted. The fuel servo was retained for future bench testing.
The fuel selector handle, fuel selector valve/fuel strainer, and fuel selector torque tube were fire damaged and deformed by impact forces and were separated from the airframe. The fuel selector valve was found between the off and left main tank positions, slightly favoring the left tank position. The fuel selector valve/fuel strainer was opened revealing significant carbon and fire damage.
The left wing was mostly consumed by impact and fire. The left wing aileron bellcrank was burned away from the mounting location in the wing. The aileron control cables remained attached to the bellcrank. The aileron balance cable was overload separated mid-cabin. The left side primary aileron cable was cut by emergency personnel about 1-foot from the drive chain. Aileron cable separations not attributed to recovery cuts revealed overload signatures and fire damage. The right wing remained attached to the airframe and remained upright. There was approximately 5 gallons of fuel in the right tank, and it was leaking where it connected to the fuselage. The fuel was tested for water revealing negative results. The flaps were in the 10° position and the landing gear was in the up/retracted position. The right wing aileron was actuated by hand by pulling the aileron cable ends at the wing root. The aileron moved freely in both directions to the stops during this testing. The right side primary aileron cable revealed a cut made by emergency personnel.
Aileron control continuity was confirmed for both wings through flight control cables to the cockpit. The empennage (consisting of the vertical stabilator, trim and rudder) was separated from the airframe and was held in place by the control cables. The pitch trim actuator was indicating a nose down configuration. The rudder, stabilator and stabilator trim control continuity was confirmed.
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According to officials, the plane was retained for further examination. No additional details have been released about what exactly caused the crash.
To read the full preliminary report, follow this link.
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