- Date
- March 22, 1991, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Hagerstown, MD
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5241DCessna 172
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910322063279A
- Case key
- 11663
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Worn camshaft lobes which resulted in the loss of engine power.
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.
Analysis
The pilot was en route when the engine power decreased to 1500 RPM. He was unable to maintain altitude so he made a forced landing in an open field, where the airplane struck a fence. The examination revealed the camshaft lobes were severely worned.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5241D
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- Unknown UNKNOWN, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Clark Aviation
- Registered owner
- Clark Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- CRW · Charleston, WV
- Destination
- CXY · Harrisburg, VA
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 300 ft
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HGR, 999 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.