- Date
- December 7, 2003, 16:00 local (Dec 8, 2003, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Snelling, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N739SUCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration, Cessna, Textron-Lycoming
- FAA report
- 20031207031259A
- Case key
- 58459
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 total loss of engine power due to oil starvation caused by the failure of the engine driven oil pump.
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 lost engine power and collided with terrain and nosed over during a forced landing. About 5 minutes in to flight the vacuum instruments failed, then 5 minutes later, at 3,000 feet, the engine made a loud noise and black smoke entered the cockpit. The smoke seemed to originate from the engine. The engine lost power and was not responding to throttle adjustments. The aircrew selected a green field into which to perform a forced landing. During the landing touchdown the nose wheel caught the ground, and the airplane nosed over on to it's back. Examination of the engine revealed that the woodruff key linking the oil pump drive shaft to the oil pump accessory gear had sheared, resulting in oil starvation and a catastrophic failure of the engine.
Factual narrative
History of flight
On December 7, 2003, at 1600 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172N, N739SU, lost engine power and collided with the ground while executing a forced landing 8 miles west of Snelling, California. The American School of Aviation operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot and a designated examiner were not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The local area instructional flight originated at Castle Airport, Atwater, California, at 1545.
The designated examiner reported to the Safety Board investigator that about 5 minutes into the private pilot check flight the vacuum instruments failed, then 5 minutes later, at 3,000 feet, the engine made a loud noise and black smoke entered the cockpit. The smoke seemed to originate from the engine. The engine lost power and was not responding to throttle adjustments. The designated examiner took the airplane's controls and selected a green field into which to perform a forced landing. During the landing touchdown the nose wheel caught the ground, and the airplane nosed over on to its back. The aircrew safely egressed the airplane uninjured.
Tests & research
Under the supervision of the Safety Board Investigator, Cessna, and Lycoming technical representatives examined the engine. The four cylinder engine had a 4 inch lateral hole in the top of the engine case, above the number 4 cylinder, between the push rod tubes. The engine crankshaft was rotated by hand and it was noted that the oil pump drive shaft did not rotate with the rest of the engine accessories. The engine was then disassembled. The number 3 cylinder connecting rod was fractured at the I-beam mid section and the rod bearing inserts were discolored, deformed, and in pieces. The number 4 cylinder connecting rod I-beam was fractured just above the crankshaft and the bearing inserts were deformed. The gear type oil pump was disassembled. The oil pump woodruff key was observed sheared in half along the interface between the drive shaft and the accessory drive gear.
The vacuum pump rotated freely and the flexible drive coupler was intact.
Examination of the engine and aircraft log books documented that the annual/100 hour inspection was completed on November 1, 2003, at a engine total time of 1721.3 hours.
The Lycoming O-360-H series overhaul manual shows that the engine driven oil pump drive shaft also drives the instrument vacuum pump.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N739SU
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17270776
- Airframe hours
- 8,192
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- American School of Aviation
- Registered owner
- Phillip Secker
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 19, 2003 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- MER · Atwater, CA
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 55 total · 30 in this make and model · 10 as pilot in command
- Role
- Check pilot
- Age
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- June 15, 2003
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 6,000 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- KMCE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.