ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 146772
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| Date: | Monday 16 July 2012 |
| Time: | 09:50 |
| Type: |  Cessna 172N Skyhawk |
| Owner/operator: | Teton Leasing Llc |
| Registration: | N5204K |
| MSN: | 17274009 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 12691 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320-H2AD |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Near Rockford Municipal Airport - 2U4, Rockford, ID -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Idaho Falls, ID (IDA) |
| Rockford, ID (2U4) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The flight instructor reported that, while the airplane was in level cruise flight, the engine began to vibrate, and the rpm dropped to about 1,900. The airplane could not maintain altitude, so the instructor took control of the airplane and chose to divert to a nearby airport. During the approach, the altitude and airspeed were too high to safely land on the runway, so the instructor aborted the landing. He subsequently made a forced landing to an open field. During the landing, the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and tail section.
A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the Nos. 2 and 3 cylinders had no compression. A large amount of metal dust and debris were found in the No. 2 cylinder’s intake and exhaust ports. The No. 3 cylinder was removed, and the exhaust valve head was found embedded in the cylinder head. The piston head was severely damaged, and the valve stem was missing and had likely exited the engine out of the exhaust. The reason for the failure of the No. 3 cylinder exhaust valve could not be determined due to the damage to the exhaust valve head and the missing valve stem. Although the debris in the No.2 cylinder’s ports would have prevented the valve from sealing properly and resulted in reduced compression, it would not have caused the partial loss of engine power as the No. 3 cylinder’s failure would have.
Probable Cause: A partial loss of engine power during cruise flight due to the failure of the No. 3 cylinder exhaust valve for reasons that could not be determined due to the damage to the valve head and the missing valve stem. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s improper approach to the runway, which resulted in an aborted landing and subsequent off-airport landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/article_9d66a2f4-cf89-11e1-a9b3-001a4bcf887a.html
https://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/preliminary_data/events01/media/02_5204K.txt
https://flightaware.com/photos/view/548289-0a723db786d9887597dd16d619c87ec7d8b2b4b4/aircrafttype/C172
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 3 February 2005 | N5204K | Avcenter, Inc. | 0 | Idaho Falls, Idaho | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jul-2012 08:30 | Geno | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 27-Nov-2017 20:53 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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