20050730018469I

Incident

FAA incident report · Cessna 172 · Yuma, AZ · July 30, 2005

Date: July 30, 2005 · 10:15 local
Place: Yuma, AZ
Phase of flight: Climb
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Aircraft: N7949B
Reported as: Cessna 172
Reported engine: Continental O300B
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 998 total328 in this make and model11 in the last 90 days

N7949BRegistered now · Cessna 172S/N 29749 Airframe modelCessna 172 Engine modelContinental 0-300 seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) The pilot took off from Yuma and headed east. At approx. 2700 ft (AGL) and only a few minutes into the flight, the engine lost power and started running rough. The pilot then headed back to Yuma, contacted the yum-tower and declared an "emergency". There was then a loud "thud", smoke around the windshield, and the propeller stopped turning. The pilot realized he would not be able to reach the airport so he elected to "dead-stick" land on privacy data omitted the emergency landing was uneventful (airframe-wise). The pilot called prescott flight service and gave them a GPS "fix" on his a/c. the sheriff and rescue personnel arrived from Yuma. The pilot was not injured. There was no post-event fire. The pilot noticed that the engine had "thrown" the #6 cylinder connecting rod thru the c/case (fwd, LH cyl.)

As the FAA filed it

(-23) THE PILOT TOOK OFF FROM YUMA AND HEADED EAST. AT APPROX. 2700 FT (AGL) AND ONLY A FEW MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND STARTED RUNNING ROUGH. THE PILOT THEN HEADED BACK TO YUMA, CONTACTED THE YUM-TOWER AND DECLARED AN "EMERGENCY". THERE WAS THEN A LOUD "THUD", SMOKE AROUND THE WINDSHIELD, AND THE PROPELLER STOPPED TURNING. THE PILOT REALIZED HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REACH THE AIRPORT SO HE ELECTED TO "DEAD-STICK" LAND ON ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THE EMERGENCY LANDING WAS UNEVENTFUL (AIRFRAME-WISE). THE PILOT CALLED PRESCOTT FLIGHT SERVICE AND GAVE THEM A GPS "FIX" ON HIS A/C. THE SHERIFF AND RESCUE PERSONNEL ARRIVED FROM YUMA. THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THERE WAS NO POST-EVENT FIRE. THE PILOT NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE HAD "THROWN" THE #6 CYLINDER CONNECTING ROD THRU THE C/CASE (FWD, LH CYL.)