ERA16LA231

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172 · Hollywood, FL · June 26, 2016

Accident · No injuriesClass 3 · LimitedFinal report
Date
June 26, 2016, 18:30 local (22:30 UTC)
Place
Hollywood, FL
Injuries
4 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Initial climb
Aircraft
N734UFCessna 172
Defining event
Initial climb: Loss of engine power (partial)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20160626008229A
Case key
93459

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

A partial loss of engine power during the initial climb for undetermined reasons.

Findings · 1

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Not determinedNot determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determinedCessna 172N: 24 casesAll aircraft: 2,247 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

The pilot planned to perform takeoff and landing practice in the airport traffic pattern. The pilot performed a run-up check of the engine before departing and completed a successful circuit around the traffic pattern. During the second takeoff, while the airplane was about 300 ft above the ground, the engine rpm reduced from 2,500 to 1,800. The pilot declared an emergency and then landed the airplane in a grassy area between two parallel runways. During the landing, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. The engine and airframe were not examined after the accident; thus, the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

Factual narrative

On June 26, 2016, about 1830 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N734UF, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in Hollywood, Florida. The commercial pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight from North Perry Airport (HWO), Hollywood, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to the pilot, the airplane underwent an annual inspection in January 2016, at Ft Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The airplane was not flown until the day before the accident, when the pilot flew it to HWO. On the day of the accident, the pilot decided to do some landing pattern practice and invited three friends along. Because the airplane had not flown much in the previous 6 months, the pilot paid particular attention to the runup checks, with no anomalies noted. The airplane took off from runway 10R, and on final approach the pilot set full flaps, carburetor heat on. The pilot completed a landing without problem, and commenced another takeoff with carburetor heat off, full power, and pitch about 5 degrees. Once a positive rate of climb was attained, the pilot retracted the flaps. About 300 feet in the air, the engine rpm went from 2,500 to about 1,800 rpm. The pilot determined that the engine had failed and declared an emergency. He aimed the airplane for a grassy area between runways 28L and 28R, but when the airplane touched down on a slope just before taxiway B, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over, damaging the fuselage and tail. The airframe and engine were not examined in detail following the accident.

Aircraft

Registration
N734UF
Reported as
Cessna 172 (N)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
17269119
Built
1977
Airframe hours
5,325
Engine
Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · January 1, 2016 · 0 hours before
Departed
HWO · Hollywood, FL
Destination
HWO · Hollywood, FL
Airport
HWO · North Perry, runway 10R, 3,255 × 100 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Stall warning system

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
29
Injuries
None
Certificate
Foreign
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Medical
Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
Seat
Left

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
90° at 9 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Temperature
86 °F, dew point 73 °F
Altimeter
30.04 inHg
Observed at
HWO

Docket · 3

The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 16, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 30.7 MB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Other investigations on N734UF · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.