NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board issued its final report related to the investigation of a deadly 2024 plane crash near Interstate 40.
The report was released one year and one day after the crash. Ultimately, the NTSB found the pilot failed “to ensure the proper placement of the fuel selector during the approach and landing.” That meant the CF-BWH Piper PA-28 did not have enough fuel going into the engine, which resulted in a complete loss of engine power.
At 7:43 p.m. on March 3, 2024, the pilot of the small plane had been granted clearance to land at John C. Tune Airport. The aircraft overflew the airport; an analysis of the audio from the small plane revealed the engine had been operating at full, continuous power “before the engine sound became abnormal” and the audio contained several “popping” noises before the sound of the engine ended.
The pilot told the approach controller that his engine had “turned off” and that he would be landing, only he did not know where. The controller declared an emergency and cleared a runway for the pilot; though the pilot said he could see the runway, he “was too far away to reach it.” When the plane hit the ground, officials said it immediately burst into flames.
NTSB officials started combing through the wreckage immediately following the crash, working to find exactly what failed.
Given the lack of other mechanical
anomalies found during the examination, it is likely that the pilot moved the fuel selector at
some point during the overflight and approach, but failed to fully seat the selector in position,
resulting in a restricted fuel flow that was less than that needed to sustain engine power.
Following the loss of engine power, the remaining altitude was insufficient to provide gliding
distance to the runway.
NTSB final report
All five people aboard the aircraft — identified as Victor Dotsenko, 43, his wife, Rimma Dotsenko, 39, and their three children, David, 12, Adam, 10, and Emma, 7 of Canada — were killed in the crash. The investigation found Victor had about 200 total hours of flight experience as of about 10 days before the crash flight. Toxicology reports from the medical examiner found no evidence of drugs of abuse in his system at the time of the crash.
