- Date
- August 17, 2012, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Rockford, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N152BACessna 152
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 26, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20120817019239A
- Case key
- 84916
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
A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the engine revealed no anomalies.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
While on a visual approach to the runway during the instructional flight, the engine lost partial power. The flight instructor reported that the engine was operating normally and then the engine rpm abruptly decreased from 2,200 to about 1,300. The carburetor heat was in the OFF position for the approach. The flight instructor's efforts to regain engine power were unsuccessful. Unable to make a landing at the airport, the instructor executed a forced landing to a field. The airplane touched down short of the airport, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the vertical stabilizer and rudder were bent; no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation were identified. The engine was test run at various power settings with no anomalies noted. Although a carburetor icing probability chart revealed that the ambient temperature and dew point at the time of the accident favored serious carburetor icing at glide power, the pilot reported that the engine was not at glide power when the power loss occurred. Accordingly, the investigation was not able to identify the reason for the power loss.
Factual narrative
While on a visual approach to the runway during the instructional flight, the engine lost partial power. The flight instructor reported that the engine was operating normally and then the engine rpm abruptly decreased from 2,200 to about 1,300. The carburetor heat was in the OFF position for the approach. The flight instructor's efforts to regain engine power were unsuccessful. Unable to make a landing at the airport, the instructor executed a forced landing to a field. The airplane touched down short of the airport, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the vertical stabilizer and rudder were bent; no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation were identified. The engine was test run at various power settings with no anomalies noted. Although a carburetor icing probability chart revealed that the ambient temperature and dew point at the time of the accident favored serious carburetor icing at glide power, the pilot reported that the engine was not at glide power when the power loss occurred. Accordingly, the investigation was not able to identify the reason for the power loss.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N152BA
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15282722
- Airframe hours
- 9,708
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235 SERIES, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 2, 2012
- Departed
- C77 · Poplar Grove, IL
- Destination
- RFD · Rockford, IL
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 25
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 26, 2012
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,322 total · 578 in this make and model · 1,262 as pilot in command · 227 in the last 90 days · 59 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 20
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 27 total · 26 in this make and model · 18 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- RFD, 14 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 1, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N152BA · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.