- Date
- June 22, 1989, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Indianapolis, IN
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N13652Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 9, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890622020799A
- Case key
- 14371
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
Fuel contamination from a deteriorating part in the carburetor. The trees and improper maintenance/servicing of the aircraft were probable contributing factors.
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 student plt was on his 1st solo x-country flt. Shortly after leveling on the 2nd leg of the flt, the eng lost power & would not restart. As the student was maneuvering to land in a field, the acft's left wing struck a treetop, then the acft crashed to the ground. An investigation revealed that the fuel system was contaminated with debris from the deteriorating carburetor accelerator pump. A fuel sample was taken for an analysis, which revealed the fuel was a mixture of avgas & automotive gasoline.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N13652
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17262912
- Airframe hours
- 6,440
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Washington Aeronautics, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Washington Aeronautics, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 4, 1988 · 180 hours before
- Departed
- 418 · Indianapolis, IN
- Destination
- 142 · Paoli, IN
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 50 total · 50 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IND, 19 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.