# Incident 20050509009729I: Cessna 172G, Lancaster, PA, May 9, 2005

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 9, 2005, 12:00 local time
- Place: Lancaster, PA
- Airport: Lancaster
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.1224° N, 76.2944° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at LANCASTER (LNS), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1224&lon=-76.2944&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1324F, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1324F) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172G (registry code 2072420, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172g) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-300 series (registry code 17022, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172G
- Reported engine: LYC O360*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,509 total, 945 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050509009729I

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE AIRCRAFT WHILE RETURNING HOME FROM LOUISA COUNTY (LKU), VIRGINIA WAS OVER THE LANCASTER AIRPORT (LNS) WHEN THE ENGINE QUIT. THE AUXILIARY FUEL TANK WAS SELECTED AND POWER WAS RESTORED AFTER 15 SECONDS. THE ENGINE DID NOT SEEM TO BE RUNNING NORMALLY, SO THE PILOT CONTACTED LNS TOWER AND DECLARED AN EMERGENCY. A NORMAL LANDING FOLLOWED. AN INSPECTION BY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL REVEALED THAT THE FUEL SYSTEM WAS HEAVILY CONTAMINATED WITH WATER AND RUSTY DEBRIS CAUSING THE ENGINE TO STOP IN FLIGHT. THE AIRCRAFT OWNER ADMITTED TO NOT SUMPING THE FUEL TANKS THOROUGHLY BECAUSE THE SUMP DRAINS WOULD STICK AND LEAK AFTERWARDS. THE AIRCRAFT OWNER, WHO WAS ALSO THE PILOT, RESPONDED POSITIVELY TO COUNSELING CONCERNING HIS INADEQUATE SUMPING OF THE FUEL SYSTEM DURING PREFLIGHT. THE COMPLETE FUEL SYSTEM WAS DISASSEMBLED, CLEANED, AND REPAIRED PRIOR TO THE AIRCRAFT BEING RETURNED TO SERVICE.

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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