ATL83FA150

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172 · Spartanburg, SC · April 5, 1983

Accident · Serious injuriesField investigationFinal report
Date
April 4, 1983, 21:50 local (Apr 5, 1983, 02:50 UTC)
Place
Spartanburg, SC
Injuries
1 serious, 2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Approach
Aircraft
N8253UCessna 172
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19830404013099A
Case key
5902

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Loss of engine powerGo-around (vfr)
Reason for occurrence undeterminedCause
Forced landingApproach
In flight collision with objectApproach - vfr pattern - final approach
Light condition - dark nightFactor
Object - wire,transmissionFactor
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent - uncontrolled

Analysis

According to the plt's son, who was a passenger, the plt had made a final approach lineup on the wrong set of lights. Realizing the mistake, the plt initiated a go-around at aprx 200 ft AGL. However, the eng lost power. During an emergency landing at night, the plt saw power lines & pulled the nose up to avoid a collision, but was too late. The stall warning horn sounded & the acft crashed in a nose down attitude. A power line was found wrapped around the fuselage & tail section. Aprx 7 gal of fuel was remaining. An exam of the acft & subsystems failed to disclose any preimpact failure or malfunction. The acft had been retrofitted with front seat shoulder restraint systems. Despite the extensive damage of the afct, which included rearward displacement of the eng, the plt received only facial injuries & the passengers received only minor to no injuries. The temp & dew point were 50 & 38 deg. Icing probability charts indicated carb icing was possible, but the positon of carb heat on final, not verified.

Aircraft

Registration
N8253U
Reported as
Cessna 172
Category
Airplane
Serial number
17252153
Airframe hours
1,944
Engine
Lycoming O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Robert C. Schaeffer
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · April 1, 1983 · 4 hours before
Departed
OSU · Columbus, OH
Airport
Spartanburg Downtown, runway 22, 5,203 × 100 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
41
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Unknown
Seat
Left
Flight hours
99 total · 8 in this make and model · 55 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
Wind
Calm
Visibility
15 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
50 °F, dew point 37 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
GSP

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.