ERA17LA234

The private pilot indicated that he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane before the local flight and noticed a small amount of water drain from the fuel tanks while sampling fuel from them. After an engine run up, he did not notice any anomalies and departed. While in cruise flight at an altitude of 1,200 ft above ground level, the engine lost power, and the pilot changed his course to return to the departure airport. During the return to the airport, the engine lost total power. The pilot began an emergency descent and conducted a forced landing, during which the airplane struck power lines, collided with the ground, and nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed a mixture of water and fuel draining from the right fuel tank. Examination of the carburetor revealed a significant amount of corrosion within the carburetor; several large flakes of corroded material were at the bottom of the fuel bowl, and one flake was within the mixture control housing, indicating that water had likely been present in the fuel system for an extended period of time. Given this information, it is likely that water contamination of the fuel ultimately resulted in the loss of engine power.

On June 7, 2017, about 0950 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172D airplane, N2492U, lost engine power over Cape Coral, Florida, and was substantially damaged during a forced landing. The pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which originated from Page Field Airport (FMY), Fort Myers, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to the pilot, prior to the flight he performed a preflight inspection and sumped the fuel tanks several times. He said that he only observed a small amount of water drain from the tanks. He performed an engine run up and no anomalies were observed prior to takeoff. After takeoff while in cruise flight at an altitude of 1,200 ft above the ground (agl), the pilot observed a loss of engine power. He immediately changed his course to return to the departure airport and applied carburetor heat to regain power. The engine continued to run rough at a decreased power setting, but the airplane maintained an altitude of 800 ft agl. As he planned for an emergency landing, the engine lost all power. He notified air traffic control that he was "going down" and began an emergency descent. The airplane struck power lines and collided with the ground nose first. The pilot exited the airplane and waited for emergency services. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector arrived on scene about 4 hours after the accident and noted that the airplane was inverted in a parking lot. During the examination of the airplane he observed that the nose of the airplane was crush aft, the engine was crushed against the firewall and there was buckling throughout the fuselage. A mixture of water and fuel was observed dripping out of the right wing fuel cap. The inspector estimated about 2 gallons of water flowed from the fuel tanks. He contacted the fire chief on scene and asked if water was sprayed on the airplane; the fire chief responded "no" and went on to say that "the pilot was also looking at the water dripping from the tank." After the airplane was removed it was discovered that the fuel caps had an extensive amount of rust on both fuel ports. An examination of the engine revealed impact damage signatures. The two blade, fixed pitch propeller remained attached to the crankshaft and displayed impact damage signatures to both of the blades. The crankshaft propeller flange remained partially attached to the rest of the crankshaft; the crankshaft was cracked aft of the propeller flange which was consistent with impact damage. The propeller was rotated by hand and camshaft, crankshaft, and valve train continuity to the rear accessory section of the engine was observed. Due to damage to the engine an engine test-run was not attempted. The magnetos, and the ignition harness were impact damaged and were unable to provide any useful information. The engine assembly did not reveal anyanomalies within the drivetrain that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the carburetor revealed a significant amount of corrosion noted within the carburetor; there were several large flakes of corroded material at the bottom of the fuel bowl and one flake was located within the mixture control housing. Examination of the airframe revealed flight control continuity to all of the flight surfaces and flight controls. Examination the airframe did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.