- Date
- August 6, 1992, 10:20 local (15:20 UTC)
- Place
- East Lansing, MI
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6853ECessna 175A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920806029609A
- Case key
- 15506
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
The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the aircraft which resulted in a loss of engine power during cruise flight. Related factors are the loose oil filler cap, and the short, wet grass strip used for the emergency landing.
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 reported he was in cruise flight at 3,000 feet when the engine began to run rough and he noted a drop in oil pressure. He performed a forced landing on a grass airstrip at an uncontrolled airport. The airplane ran off the departure end of the runway, across a road and came to rest inverted in a ditch. Post-accident examination of the wreckage revealed the presence of engine oil all over the wings, tail section, and the sides and bottom of the fuselage. The oil filler cap was loose in the engine compartment, attached by its chain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6853E
- Reported as
- Cessna 175A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 56353
- Airframe hours
- 3,484
- Engine
- Continental GO-300C, 175 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Conroy, Robert J.
- Registered owner
- Conroy, Robert J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 30, 1992 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- 5G9 · Ottawa Lake, MI
- Airport
- 2D8 · East Lansing, runway 4, 1,950 × 150 ft, grass/turf
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
- 67
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 335 total · 20 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAN, 5 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.