# NTSB DEN02LA055: Cessna 175, N7338M, Salt Lake City, UT, June 16, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 15, 2002, 20:12 local (Jun 16, 2002, 02:12 UTC) - Place: Salt Lake City, UT - Coordinates: 40.768611, -112.366111 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7686&lon=-112.3661&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 16, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 54938 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN02LA055 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54938/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54938 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA055 ## Probable cause total mechanical loss of engine power for reasons undetermined. Contributing factors were the lack of an annual inspection and the (forced landing in) salt water. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - mech failure/malf, cruise - normal - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) - powerplant - failure,total (cause) - maintenance,annual inspection - disregarded, pilot in command (contributing factor) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - emergency procedure - performed, pilot in command - In flight collision with terrain/water, landing - flare/touchdown - touchdown - performed, pilot in command - terrain condition - water (contributing factor) ## Analysis While in cruise flight at 5,600 feet msl, the tachometer indicated the engine had lost 100 to 200 rpm (revolutions per minute) and shortly thereafter, the oil temperature "pegged high" but oil pressure remained steady at 25 psi. The engine vibrated and the upper cowling broke off, exposing a breach in the top of the casing aft of #3 cylinder. White smoke filled the cockpit, the engine seized, and the propeller stopped in the vertical position. A forced landing in salt water ensued. The last annual inspection on the airplane had been performed 9 years before the accident. ## Factual narrative On June 15, 2002, at 2012 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 175, N7338M, registered to and operated by the pilot, was destroyed when a forced landing was made in the Great Salt Lake, near Tooele, Utah. The pilot and one passenger received minor injuries, and the second passenger was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated in Ogden, Utah, approximately 2000, and was en route to Tooele, Utah. According to the pilot's accident report, the airplane was in cruise flight at 5,600 feet msl (mean sea level) when he and his son, an airplane mechanic, became concerned when the tachometer indicated the engine had lost 100 to 200 rpm (revolutions per minute). Shortly thereafter, they noticed the oil temperature was "pegged high." Oil pressure remained normal and steady at 25 pounds per square inch (psi). "Within seconds the engine started to self-destruct," the pilot wrote, resulting in "violent and high amplitude" vibrations that shook the airplane. "Then the engine exploded with a series of loud bangs and the upper engine cowl jumped wildly." The cowling broke off and they saw what they thought was one of the crankshaft counterweights blown through the top of the casing aft of the #3 cylinder. White smoke came out of the front of the engine cowling, up and over the windshield, and filled the cockpit. The engine seized and the propeller stopped in the vertical position. The pilot retarded the throttle and mixture, and turned the magnetos and fuel selector off. After making a distress call, the pilot ditched the airplane in the lake. Control tower personnel at Salt Lake City International Airport monitored the radio transmission and notified the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). A searching CAP airplane soon located the occupants swimming near the submerged airplane. At a later date, the pilot attempted to retrieve the airplane but before he could secure it on shore, high winds and heavy seas washed it back into the lake. The engine was not recovered. The pilot told a Teledyne Continental Motors investigator that all magnesium components had eroded away and the aluminum parts were "bubbling" in the salt water. From the decription given to him by the pilot, the investigator surmised that either a counterweight had separated, or the number 2 connecting rod may have broken off the crankshaft. According to an FAA inspector with the Salt Lake City Flight Standards District Office, the pilot did not have a current medical certificate and he did not have a current biennial flight review. In addition, the last annual inspection on the airplane had been performed 9 years ago. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N7338M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7338M-2014-11-17), registration cancelled 2014-11-17, S/N 55638, built 1958 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 175 - Registry model: [Cessna 175](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-175) (registry code 2072502) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental GO-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-go-300-series) (registry code 17024, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 55638 - Engines: Teledyne Continental GO-300-A 175 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Brent A. Carlson - Registered owner: David B. Leiser - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: OGD, Ogden, UT - Destination: TVY, Tooele, UT ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 54; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; medical: class 3, expired; seat: left; flight hours: 200 total, 8 in the last 90 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: 10° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 36 °F - Altimeter: 29.94 inHg - Observed at: SLC, 14 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020615012719A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020615012719A), Jun 15, 2002: Cessna 175, Saltlakecity, UT, No damage. (.19) On June 15, 2002, at 2012 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 175, N7338M, registered to and operated by pilot, was destroyed when the pilot made a forced… ## Other investigations on N7338M (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB DEN77FTM30](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN77FTM30), Sep 3, 1977: Cessna 175 (N7338M), Hite, UT, substantial damage ## Docket (8 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 7, 2002, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54938. 1.9 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 386 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40445585&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Supplement S (item 2, .PDF, 31 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40168491&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Supplement%20S-Master.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 3, .PDF, 66 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40168493&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF - Maps or Charts of Accident Area, Wreckage Diagrams (item 4, .PDF, 167 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40168494&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Maps%20or%20Charts%20of%20Accident%20Area,%20Wreckage%20Diagrams-Master.PDF - Teledyne Continental Motors Prelim Report (item 5, .PDF, 138 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40445586&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Teledyne%20Continental%20Motors%20Prelim%20Report-Redacted.PDF - Photo 2 - View to the northeast. After colliding with parked pickup ruck (background), airplane nosed over and skidded 300 feet. (item 6, .PDF, 334 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40169966&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%20-%20View%20to%20the%20northeast.%20%20After%20colliding%20with%20parked%20pickup%20ruck%20(background),%20airplane%20nosed%20over%20and%20skidded%20300%20feet.-Master.PDF - Photo 3 - Parked pickup truck that was struck by N47465. (item 7, .PDF, 377 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40169967&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%203%20-%20Parked%20pickup%20truck%20that%20was%20struck%20by%20N47465.-Master.PDF - Photo 4 - Close-up view of damaged pickup truck. Note left wing embedded in truck. (item 8, .PDF, 444 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40169968&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%204%20-%20Close-up%20view%20of%20damaged%20pickup%20truck.%20Note%20left%20wing%20embedded%20in%20truck.-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.