# Accident 19971201035889A: Reims FR172J, Marietta, GA, December 1, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 1, 1997, 11:05 local time
- Place: Marietta, GA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.9536° N, 84.5425° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Marietta, GA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9536&lon=-84.5425&mi=10
- Aircraft: N14493, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N14493-1998-06-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Reims CESSNA FR172J (registry code 7530209, https://openairdocs.org/model/reims-cessna-fr172j) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: REIMS FR172J
- Reported engine: CONT IO360H
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 950 total, 5 in this make and model, 121 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98LA037](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA037) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971201035889A

## Narrative

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

LOST POWER AT CRUISE. CRASHED IN CITY. ENGINE OIL COOLER CRACKED. LOST OIL THRU RODS. (.19) ON DECEMBER 1, 1997, ABOUT 1105 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA FR-172J, N14493, REGISTERED TO THE FLIGHT SCHOOL OF GWINNETT, INC., OPERATING AS A 14 CFR PART 91 FERRY FLIGHT, EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DURING CRUISE FLIGHT ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, GEORGIA.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS  PREVAILED AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED, AND THE COMMERCIAL PILOT SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM GWINNETT COUNTY/BRISCOE FIELD, LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA, ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT STATED WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT AN ALTITUDE OF  6,000 FEET, UNDER THE CONTROL OF ATLANTA APPROACH CONTROL, THE ENGINE TACHOMETER SUDDENLY INCREASED ABOUT 100 RPM AND AS HE ADJUSTED POWER, HE EXPERIENCED "HISSING" AND "BANGING" FROM THE ENGINE.  SIMULTANEOUSLY,  HE EXPERIENCED GRADUAL RPM DECAY, COWLING VIBRATION, OIL ON THE WINDSCREEN, AND WHITE SMOKE FROM UNDER THE COWL AND IN THE COCKPIT. UPON NOTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEM, ATC GAVE THE PILOT AN IMMEDIATE VECTOR TOWARD DOBBINS ARB. THE PILOT REALI ZED HE COULD NOT MAKE THE AIRFIELD, AND MADE A FORCED LANDING TO A GRADED, TERRACED CONSTRUCTION SITE, AND CAME TO REST IN A WOODED AREA. (.4)WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT, THE ENGINE BEGAN MAKING BANGING AND HISSING SOUNDS, EMITTING WHITE SMOKE, AND STEADILY LOSING POWER.  THE PILOT REQUESTED VECTORS FROM ATC TO THE NEAREST AIRPORT, DOBBINS ARB, BUT COULDN'T STRETCH HIS GLIDE, AND MADE A FORCED LANDING ONTO A CONSTRUCTION SITE.  THE AIRPLANE CAME TO A STOP IN TREES AND WAS DESTROYED. AN NTSB-SUPERVISED TEARDOWN INSPECTION REVEALED FAILURE OF THE OIL COOLER CORE RESULTING IN OIL STARVATION.                                                                         (-23) AIRCRAFT LOST POWER AT CRUISE ALT. 6000 FT. UNABLE TO MAINTAIN FLIGHT. UNABLE TO LAND AT CLOSEST AIRPORT. CRASH LANDED IN A RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION. MINOR INJURY TO PILOT ONLY.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA98LA037](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA037), Dec 1, 1997: Cessna FR-172J (N14493), Marietta, GA, destroyed. Probable cause: A catastrophic failure of the oil cooler core which led to overboard porting of lubricating oil and subsequent engine failure.

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.

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