20121020023489I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Cessna 162 · Renton, WA · October 20, 2012

Date: October 20, 2012 · 12:00 local
Place: Renton, WA
Phase of flight: Unknown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N52165
Reported as: Cessna 162
Reported engine: Continental O-200
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours: 832 total166 in this make and model107 in the last 90 days

N52165Registered now · Cessna 162S/N 16200048 · Built 2011 Airframe modelCessna 162 Engine modelContinental O-200 series4 cycle

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.

The day following a training flight, it was noticed that the left flap had wrinkled outboard and inboard of the attach point of the push rod. The wrinkling was limited to the left flap and was consistent with a force being applied uniformly to the front (bottom) of the flap. The instructor noted that the wind was gusty on approach but claims to have not exceeded any limitation of the aircraft during the flight. Investigation on scene of the flap and associated controls revealed no obvious indication of design flaw or insufficient maintenance.

As the FAA filed it

THE DAY FOLLOWING A TRAINING FLIGHT, IT WAS NOTICED THAT THE LEFT FLAP HAD WRINKLED OUTBOARD AND INBOARD OF THE ATTACH POINT OF THE PUSH ROD. THE WRINKLING WAS LIMITED TO THE LEFT FLAP AND WAS CONSISTENT WITH A FORCE BEING APPLIED UNIFORMLY TO THE FRONT (BOTTOM) OF THE FLAP. THE INSTRUCTOR NOTED THAT THE WIND WAS GUSTY ON APPROACH BUT CLAIMS TO HAVE NOT EXCEEDED ANY LIMITATION OF THE AIRCRAFT DURING THE FLIGHT. INVESTIGATION ON SCENE OF THE FLAP AND ASSOCIATED CONTROLS REVEALED NO OBVIOUS INDICATION OF DESIGN FLAW OR INSUFFICIENT MAINTENANCE.