# NTSB ERA10WA444: Cessna 172, Cerro Azul, Ecuador, August 25, 2010

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Foreign investigation
- Date: August 25, 2010, 12:29 local (12:29 UTC)
- Place: Cerro Azul, Ecuador
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal, 2 serious
- Status: Led by another country's authority
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Lead agency: Other
- Parties: FAA International FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 77096
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA10WA444
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/77096/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=77096
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA10WA444

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Initial climb: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,858 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md)
- [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)

## Factual narrative

On August 25, 2010, about 1229 universal coordinated time, a Cessna 172, Ecuadorian registration HC-AQK, registered to and operated by AIFA as a personal flight, crashed following a loss of engine power. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot and rear seated passenger were seriously injured, and the right seated passenger was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. According to information obtained from the Ecuadorian Accidentes de Aviacion Civil, the flight departed under visual flight rules. Shortly thereafter, the pilot reported that he had an unspecified engine problem. The pilot contacted air traffic control and reported his position before going down. In an interview by rescuers, the pilot stated that the engine rpm dropped from 2,300 to 2,000 rpm, and the airplane descended into the trees. This investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Government of Ecuador. Any further information can be obtained from: Sr. Jaime Salazar G La investigación se encuentra a cargo de la Junta Investigadora de Accidentes de la República del Ecuador Phone: 593-2-223-8981 Fax; 593-2- 249-3755 This report is for informational purposes only and contains information released by the Government of Ecuador.

## Aircraft

- Registration: HC-AQK (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- Category: Airplane
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Non-U.S., non-commercial
- Operator: Aifa
- Registered owner: Aifa
- Flight plan: Unknown

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; injuries: serious; medical: unknown, unknown; seat: left

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC)

## Docket (1 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 2, 2010, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=77096. 22 KB in all.

- Memorandum for record Ecuador (item 1, .PDF, 22 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40338836&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20record%20Ecuador-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.

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