Cessna 152 N64921

Summary

On 12 September 2000 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N64921 was involved in an accident near Saspamco, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 September 2000 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Saspamco, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.2495, -98.3306

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N64921

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Antonio → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW00LA256

1 person had minor injuries.

the failure of the #3 and #4 connecting rods. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain condition for the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot had been practicing flight maneuvers for about 30-40 minutes when the flight instructor noticed a drop in engine rpm and altitude. He instructed the student to apply full power; however, the rpm continued to drop. The flight instructor took control of the airplane, and the engine lost power with a loud noise, smoke, oil and debris coming from the engine cowling. The flight instructor initiated a forced landing, and the airplane touched down in a plowed field aligned with the furrows. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear sunk into the soft dirt, and the airplane nosed over coming to rest inverted. Examination of the engine revealed the #3 and #4 connecting rods had failed. The engine had accumulated 3,023 hours since the last major overhaul. The manufacturer's recommended time between overhauls is 2,400 hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.