# Incident 19970812028739I: Cessna 172N, Torrance, CA, August 12, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 12, 1997, 13:24 local time
- Place: Torrance, CA
- Airport: Torrance Municipal Airport
- Phase of flight: Practice Training Manuevers
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.8305° N, 118.3566° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Torrance, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8305&lon=-118.3566&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4973F, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4973F) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- Reported engine: LYC O320H2AD
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,820 total, 500 in this make and model, 90 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970812028739I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON AUGUST 12, 1997, AT 1324 PDT, PIC KARL MESSERSCHMIDT AND HIS STUDENT PILOT, WILLIAM LAMAR, DECLARED AN EMERGENCY DUE TO A ROUGH RUNNING ENGINE AT ONTARIO AIRPORT. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION, ONE OF THE VALVES HAD STUCK. THE CYLINDER WAS PULLED OUT AND A NEW VALVE AND VALVE GUIDE WAS INSTALLED. THE ENGINE WAS OVERHAULED 556 HOURS AGO BY PERFORMANCE AERO ENGINES, INC. THIS INCIDENT IS NOW CLOSED.

## Other reports on N4973F (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 20020315005359I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020315005359I), Mar 15, 2002: Cessna 172N (N4973F), Hugo, CO. (-23) During flight VFR centennial to lamar, tae-hyung kim, reported engine problems and made an emergency landing in an open field in Hugo, CO. A mechanic was…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.