# Incident 20121125026029I: Cessna 172M, Bethel, AK, November 25, 2012 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 25, 2012, 18:35 local time - Place: Bethel, AK - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: YAAA - Location: 60.7922° N, 161.7558° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Bethel, AK, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.7922&lon=-161.7558&mi=10 - Aircraft: N20109, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N20109-2014-12-12) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 172M (registry code 2072418, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172m) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172M - Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor - Pilot flight hours: 748 total, 330 in this make and model, 179 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20121125026029I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. AIRCRAFT DEPARTED NUNAPITCHUK, ALASKA FOR A FLIGHT TO BETHEL, ALASKA. CRUISE ALTITUDE WAS AROUND 1200-1500 FEET AGL, ENGINE RPM AROUND 2500. ABOUT 10 MILES WEST OF THE BETHEL AIRPORT THE PILOT NOTICED A STRANGE VIBRATION COMING FROM THE ENGINE, ASSUMING IT WAS CARBURETOR ICING HE APPLIED CARBURETOR HEAT, THE RPM DROPPED AND THE VIBRATION GOT WORSE. OIL TEMP AND PRESSURE SEEMED NORMAL AT THE TIME (PILOT STATEMENT). RETURNED POWER TO 2500 RPM WHERE THE VIBRATION WAS THE LEAST OF WHAT HE WAS EXPERIENCING. AFTER ABOUT ANOTHER MINUTE THE VIBRATION SUDDENLY STARTED TO RAPIDLY WORSEN, OIL TEMP. WAS DRASTICALLY HIGHER THAN NORMAL BUT STILL IN THE GREEN, AND THE OIL PRESSURE WAS SLIGHTLY BELOW THE GREEN ARC.THE PILOT NOTIFIED THE BETHEL CONTROL TOWER INFORMING THEM OF THE ENGINE PROBLEMS AND REQUESTED A STRAIGHT IN FOR RUNWAY 12.SHORTLY AFTER THE RADIO CALL THE ENGINE VIBRATION RAPIDLY BECAME EXTREME AND TERMINATED WITH A LOUD BANG AND A SHOWER OF SPARKS COMING FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE COWLING, AND AT THIS POINT THE ENGINE WAS NO LONGER PRODUCING POWER.THE PILOT THEN MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LANDING ON A FROZEN LAKE BED, AND AFTER COMING TO A STOP THE PILOT CALLED THE BETHEL CONTROL TOWER AND INFORMED THEM OF THE SITUATION.AFTER SECURING THE AIRCRAFT THE PILOT INSPECTED THE OUTSIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT AND FOUND THAT THE PROPELLER HAD DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT. ## Other reports on N20109 (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20131215024619A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20131215024619A), Dec 15, 2013: Cessna 172M (N20109), Bethel, AK, Substantial damage. On December 15, 2013, at 1730 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 172, N20109, lost power during takeoff and overshot the runway overrun area and through the outer… - [Accident 20100119026049A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100119026049A), Jan 19, 2010: Cessna 172M (N20109), Bethel, AK, Substantial damage. The aircraft was attempting a soft-field takeoff using rwy 1L at the Bethel Airport when the aircraft yawed and banked violently to the left just as the nose… 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.