# NTSB ERA12CA466: Cessna 172P, N127EP, St. Augustine, FL, July 18, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 18, 2012, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC) - Place: St. Augustine, FL - Coordinates: 29.959167, -81.339721 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.9592&lon=-81.3397&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Unknown](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/990) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Unknown: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 7, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 84382 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA12CA466 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/84382/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84382 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12CA466 ## Probable cause Undetermined due to a lack of information about when the damage to the airplane occurred. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172P, 8 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=2072436), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Unknown: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172P, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md?model=2072436), [All aircraft, 1,703 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md) ## Analysis During a scheduled 100-hour inspection, maintenance personnel discovered structural damage to the airplane’s firewall. According to the flight school’s records, the airplane had been flown 91.4 hours on 77 flights between the time of the previous 100 hour inspection and the time when the damage was discovered. The flight school was never notified of an event that would have possibly caused the firewall damage. Therefore, the actual time and date and the circumstances of the accident could not be determined. ## Factual narrative During a scheduled 100 hour inspection, maintenance personnel discovered structural damage to the airplane’s firewall. According to the flight school’s records, there were 77 flights in the accident airplane from the previous 100 hour inspection that took place on May 8, 2012 and July 18, 2012, when the damage was discovered. A total of 91.4 flight hours were accumulated between those inspections. The flight school was never notified of an event that would have possibly caused the firewall damage. The actual time and date of the accident is unknown. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N127EP](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N127EP), registered now, S/N 172-76481, built 1985 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P - Registry model: [Cessna 172P](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (registry code 2072436) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17276481 - Airframe hours: 15266 - Engines: LYCOMING 0-320-D2J 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Florida Aviation Career Training, Inc - Registered owner: Florida Aviation Career Training, Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, May 8, 2012, 97 hours before - Departed: UNKNOWN, FL - Destination: UNKNOWN, FL - Flight plan: Unknown - Airport: UNK, Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 1; medical: unknown; flight hours: 0 total, 0 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day ## Other investigations on N127EP (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 ERA25LA194](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA194), May 3, 2025: Cessna 172 (N127EP), Hastings, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 7, 2012, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84382. 1.1 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 906 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40374925&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Photo 1: Close up View of Firewall Damage. Photo Provide by Flight School. (item 2, .PDF, 105 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40374994&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%3A%20Close%20up%20View%20of%20Firewall%20Damage.%20Photo%20Provide%20by%20Flight%20School.-Master.PDF - Photo 2: Mid Firewall Area Damage. Photo Provided by The Flight School. (item 3, .PDF, 128 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40374997&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%3A%20Mid%20Firewall%20Area%20Damage.%20Photo%20Provided%20by%20The%20Flight%20School.-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.