- Date
- April 10, 2004, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Bogalusa, LA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N84623Cessna 172K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20040410011879A
- Case key
- 59025
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
The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The 716-hour pilot reported the cross-country flight was uneventful. After establishing a wide base leg for the runway, carburetor heat was applied, and engine power was reduced. During the descent, "power was added several times to prevent spark plug fouling." After a normal touch-and-go landing, the pilot noted all the engine instruments "in the green," and proceeded to take off. At an altitude of approximately 300 feet agl, the pilot noticed a "large drop of rpm," and the airplane was unable to hold altitude. The pilot "pushed the nose over and landed straight ahead." The reason for the loss of engine power was undetermined.
Factual narrative
On April 10, 2004, at 1500 central daylight time, a Cessna 172K single-engine airplane, N84623, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during takeoff initial climb from the George R Carr Memorial Airport (BXA), near Bogalusa, Louisiana. The commercial pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by private individuals. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The cross-country flight originated from the Columbia-Marion County Airport (0R0), near Columbia, Mississippi, at 1415, destined for BXA.
The 716-hour pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) that the flight to BXA was uneventful. After establishing a wide base leg for runway 18 (5,000-foot long by 100-foot wide asphalt runway), carburetor heat was applied and the engine power was reduced. During the descent, "power was added several times to prevent spark plug fouling." After a normal touch-and-go landing, the pilot noted all the engine instruments were "in the green," and proceeded to take off. At an altitude of approximately 300 feet agl, the pilot noticed a "large drop of rpm," and the airplane was unable to hold altitude. The pilot "pushed the nose over and landed straight ahead."
Examination of the airplane, by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who responded to the accident site, revealed the firewall was bent, and the left and right wing spars were bent. Fuel was observed in the left and right wing fuel tanks.
The reason for the loss of engine power was undetermined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N84623
- Reported as
- Cessna 172K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1758550
- Airframe hours
- 5,704.5
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Dawn M. Whaley
- Registered owner
- Frank J. Mammelli
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 29, 2004 · 37.4 hours before
- Departed
- 0R0 · Columbia, MS
- Destination
- BXA · Bogalusa, LA
- Airport
- BXA · George R Carr Memorial Air Fld, runway 18, 5,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 34
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- April 28, 2003
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 716 total · 500 in this make and model · 641 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.