- Date
- March 11, 1990, 01:25 local (07:25 UTC)
- Place
- Leesville, LA
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N30327Cessna 177A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report September 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900311003729A
- Case key
- 23115
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 for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident were the rough tree covered terrain in which the forced landing was performed and the bright night conditions.
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 airplane was on a night cross country flight, and had just leveled off after a descent, when the engine stopped producing power. The pilot said he was able to start it twice for short periods, but could not keep it running. He said he had pulled the carburetor heat on before starting the descent. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted trees, and then the terrain. The engine and fuel systems were inspected but the reason for the power loss could not be determined. A review of the icing probability chart indicated that the airplane was in an area where serious icing could have occurred at glide power. Later, the engine was run at less than full power, and it operated normally.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N30327
- Reported as
- Cessna 177A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17701195
- Airframe hours
- 2,045
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A2F, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- N30327 Association, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 27, 1989 · 34 hours before
- Departed
- SHV · Shreveport, LA
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
- 20
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 140 total · 140 in this make and model · 75 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 225° at 20 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,900 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 63 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.