- Date
- May 1, 2022, 18:20 local (22:20 UTC)
- Place
- Toms River, NJ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N737LYCessna 172N
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR go-around: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20220501006439A
- Case key
- 105039
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Loss of engine power due to the throttle linkage becoming disconnected in flight due to improper maintenance.
Findings · 3
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.
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 flight instructor reported that, during an instructional flight, he told the student to set up for landing on runway 6. When they were at an altitude of about 400 ft above ground level, the flight instructor told him to apply full power since for a go-around. When the student applied full power, the engine did not respond. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and tried to land on runway 24. The flight instructor knew they would not make the runway, so he tried to land in the grass and the left wing contacted a fence and flipped the airplane over, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings, the vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer. The flight instructor stated that he thought the throttle cable had become disconnected. A postaccident examination revealed that the throttle cable was not connected to the carburetor. An AN drilled bolt was found at the bottom of the cowling; however, the castellated nut was not located. Review of the maintenance logbooks revealed that the engine had been recently overhauled and installed in the airplane. Further conversations with the flight instructor, who was also the mechanic, stated that it is possible he forgot to install the cotter pin into the castellated nut and the bolt fell out.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N737LY
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17269512
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 6,300
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Old Bridge Flight School
- Registered owner
- N8074e LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 13, 2022
- Departed
- 3N6 · Englishtown, NJ
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- KMJX · Ocean county airport, runway 24, 5,950 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 74
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 22, 2022
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 23,000 total · 11,000 in this make and model · 14,700 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Injuries
- None
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 72 total · 72 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Icing
- Clear
- Observed at
- KNEL, 7 nm away
- METAR
- KNEL 012200Z AUTO 14009KT 10SM FEW095 SCT120 18/04 A3006 RMK AO2 SLP179 T01780044 $
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 14, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 16.6 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.