# NTSB WPR13LA378: Cessna 172B, N8141X, Sisters, OR, August 18, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 18, 2013, 10:00 local (17:00 UTC) - Place: Sisters, OR - Coordinates: 44.554443, -121.858612 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.5544&lon=-121.8586&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 4 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 7, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 87818 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR13LA378 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/87818/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87818 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13LA378 ## Probable cause A loss of engine power during cruise flight for reasons that could not be determined because the engine was not properly preserved to prevent corrosion after the wreckage was recovered from the lake. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172B, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=2072406), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) - [Terrain: water](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021020): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [Cessna 172B, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021020/cases.md?model=2072406), [All aircraft, 97 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021020/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172B, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=2072406), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Ditching](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/441); cases with it: [Cessna 172B, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/441/sequence.md?model=2072406), [All aircraft, 186 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/441/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was flying over a heavily wooded, remote area when the engine lost power. He restarted the engine several times, and each time the engine ran for a shorter period of time. Eventually unable to restart the engine, the pilot chose to ditch the airplane in a lake rather than descend into trees. The airplane sank in about 8 feet of water and came to rest at the bottom of the lake. The airplane was eventually recovered from the lake, but the engine was not properly preserved to prevent corrosion. The pilot reported no preimpact malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined. ## Factual narrative On August 18, 2013, about 1000 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172B airplane, N8141X, sustained substantial damage following a loss of engine power during cruise flight, and ditching in a remote mountain lake, about 18 miles northwest of Sisters, Oregon. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by the pilot as a personal local flight, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot and the three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed the Lebanon State Airport, Lebanon, Oregon, (S30) about 0745. During a telephone interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 22, the pilot said that he and his passengers had flown to the remote area to scout potential camp sites for an upcoming trip to the area. During the return flight to the airport, the engine abruptly lost power. He was able to restart the engine, and suspecting the possibility of carburetor ice, he used carburetor heat. The engine ran for about 5 minutes, and abruptly lost power again. He again was able to restart the engine, which ran for 2-3 minutes before losing power for the third time. He restarted the engine, but it ran for less than one minute. He was unable to restart the engine. The pilot was flying over heavily wooded, rugged terrain, and elected to ditch the airplane in a Lake. He prepared the airplane and passengers for the ditching. After the airplane came to rest in the water near a shoreline, the pilot and passengers exited the airplane as the cabin filled with water. After a short rest, while holding on to the wings of the still floating airplane, all the occupants of the airplane successfully swam to shore. The airplane sank in about 8 feet of water, coming to rest on the bottom of the lake, with its tail sticking above the surface. According to the pilot, the airplane is owned by another family member, and they have been flying it for the past 3 to 4 years. He said there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The airplane was eventually recovered from the lake, but its engine was not preserved to prevent corrosion. Despite repeated requests, the operator/pilot did not submit the NTSB Form 6120.1 PILOT/OPERATOR AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT/INCIDENT REPORT. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8141X](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8141X-2015-05-21), registration cancelled 2015-05-21, S/N 17248641, built 1961 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172B - Registry model: [Cessna 172B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172b) (registry code 2072406) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17248641 - Year built: 1961 - Engines: CONT MOTOR O-300 SER 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: KS30, Lebanon, OR - Destination: KS30, Lebanon, OR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 28; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 100 total, 100 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20130818016329A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130818016329A), Aug 18, 2013: Cessna 172B, Sisters, OR, Minor damage. On August 18, N8141X, while marveling (for surveying hunting locations in the jefferson wilderness) at an altitude of approximately 8000FT, experienced an… ## Other investigations on N8141X (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB SEA66D0272](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA66D0272), May 12, 1966: Cessna 172 (N8141X), Heppner, OR, substantial damage ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 7, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87818. 57 KB in all. - ROC Pilot (item 1, .PDF, 57 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40407867&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=ROC%20Pilot-Redacted.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.