Pilot error may have caused Cessna crash in Okeechobee County

Okeechobee: The National Transportation Safety Board determined “probable cause” against the pilot involved in a mid-April plane crash on “Prison Road” in Okeechobee County.
According to details of a report released Monday, pilot Divya Manchanda, 24, failed to conduct an adequate preflight inspection before taking off in a Cessna brand model 152 single engine, two-seat plane.
Federal Aviation Administration inspectors found no “obvious mechanical deficiencies,” the report stated. But a FAA inspector noticed the gascolator, a filter that drains water out of the fuel, contained water.
During the investigation Manchanda said she did not drain the gascolator before the accident, the report stated.
About 4 p.m. on April 14, Manchanda was traveling with passenger Mayank V. Nimbalkar, both flight students from India, when the plane lost engine power while 2,000 feet in the air. Manchanda tried two unsuccessful attempts to restart the engine while searching for a safe spot to land.
The plane flipped over during the crash, resulting in “substantial damage” to the airplane and Manchanda receiving a minor head cut.
02/07/08 TCPalm, USA