- Date
- August 9, 1996, 16:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Enumclaw, WA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N738PMCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960809045279A
- Case key
- 42440
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
failure of the engine magneto drive, which resulted in a loss of engine power. The lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing was a related factor.
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
During an aerial observation flight, the engine progressively lost power. The pilot made a forced landing on uneven terrain, where the airplane flipped over. Inspection of the engine revealed a failed cam follower in the magneto drive.
Factual narrative
On August 9, 1996, approximately 1600 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N738PM, sustained substantial damage when it flipped over during an emergency landing near Enumclaw, WA. The commercial pilot was uninjured. The pilot rated passenger received minor injuries. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR 91 in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was filed for the flight which had originated at Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington, approximately 1345 hours.
The flight was an aerial observation flight. The pilot reported that he was in a 300 ft/minute descent when the engine made a strange noise and began to vibrate out of the ordinary. The RPM dropped to 1900 and stayed there for about 20-30 seconds. The power then dropped to 1500 RPM. The pilot established a glide speed and turned toward the Howard Hanson Reseviour. When the RPM dropped to 1000, the pilot made a forced landing. During the landing in grass and uneven terrain, the airplane flipped over.
Inspection of the engine by FAA inspectors revealed that the cam follower in the magneto drive had failed due to a lack of lubrication.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N738PM
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- C172-70131
- Airframe hours
- 6,456
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Aeroflight
- Registered owner
- Terry Jean Houston
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 10, 1996 · 101 hours before
- Departed
- BFI · Seattle, WA
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
- 24
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 513 total · 113 in this make and model · 447 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 225° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.