Two South Carolina men did not refuel before deadly plane crash in Florida, NTSB says
Two men from South Carolina who died when their single-engine plane crashed in Florida did not refuel before leaving an Orlando airport, according to the preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Seneca, South Carolina, residents Raymond Dodd and Dr. Stanley Rampey died when the Cesna 182 crashed into a lake in Maitland, Florida, McClatchy reported. They were trying to get back to the airport in Orlando about five miles away, according to the NTSB.
Investigators said the pilot declared an emergency just before 11 a.m. on June 12 as they were flying toward New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
“The pilot also reported to the tower controller that the airplane was not getting fuel out of the right tank,” according to the report. Air traffic controllers directed the men to turn around and head back to the Executive Airport in Orlando.
“A witness stated that he was in a boat on the northeast side of Lake Maitland when he heard and saw an airplane flying overhead. The engine was sputtering ‘like it was running out of gas,’” NTSB investigators said in the report.
The witness said it looked like the plane was trying to make a water landing in the lake. “The witness further stated it looked like the airplane may have hit some treetops at the edge of the water because the airplane drastically nosed over and went straight into the water and hit ‘very hard,’” according to the report.
Investigators found that all the controls on the plane worked and it still had several gallons of fuel in each of its wing tanks and the auxiliary tanks. The men had not turned on the auxiliary fuel tank, investigators found.
