# Incident 20240919013671I: Cessna 172, Culpeper, VA, September 19, 2024

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 19, 2024, 18:20 local time
- Place: Culpeper, VA
- Damage: Minor damage
- Collision: Midair collision
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.4703° N, 77.9998° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Culpeper, VA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.4703&lon=-77.9998&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6296E, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6296E) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172 (registry code 2072402, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-300 series (registry code 17022, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 3,952 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240919013671I

## Narrative

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

ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2024, AT APPROXIMATELY 1920 LOCAL TIME, AIRCRAFT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, A CESSNA 172, WAS FLYING AT 2500 FEET, 6 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTHWEST OF WARRENTON FAUQUIER AIRPORT (KHWY), AND ABOUT 4 MILES NORTH OF LAKE OF THE WOODS, WHEN THE AIRCRAFT WAS STRUCK IN THE LOWER LEFT NOSE BY AN OBJECT WHICH MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. AT THAT TIME THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN A 45-DEGREE BANK TURN AND FLYING AT 90 KNOTS AIRSPEED. A COUPLE OF SECONDS AFTER THE IMPACT, A PANEL ON THE LEFT ENGINE COWLING DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT. THE PILOT IN COMMAND (PIC) DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND LANDED AT KHWY WITHOUT INCIDENT.

AN INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVELED A LARGE DENT AND A HOLE IN THE LOWER LEFT ENGINE COWLING WITH BLACK GOUGE MARKS, THE UPPER LEFT COWLING WAS COMPLETELY MISSING FROM THE AIRCRAFT, AND THERE WERE GOUGE MARKS ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE LEFT WING. ADDITIONALLY, AN INSPECTION OF THE ENTIRE AIRCRAFT TO INCLUDE THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF A BIRD STRIKE. NO OTHER DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOTED.

AN INSPECTION OF THE MAINTENANCE LOGBOOKS REVEALED THAT ALL INSPECTIONS WERE CURRENT AS OF SEPTEMBER 19, 2024.

ADDITIONALLY, THE SHERIFF DEPARTMENTS FOR CULPEPPER AND FAUQUIER COUNTIES WERE NOTIFIED ABOUT THE ENGINE COWLING THAT DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT, IN THE EVENT THAT A LOCAL RESIDENT RECOVERED THE ENGINE COWLING.

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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