Cessna 172R N7274D

Summary

On 9 June 2000 at about 15:20 local time, a Cessna 172R registered N7274D was involved in an accident near West Milford, New Jersey, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

9 June 2000 at 15:20

Classification

Accident

Location

West Milford, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Greenwood Lake (4N1)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172R

Registration

N7274D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

White Plains → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC00LA155

2 people had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a normal pre-flight inspection and pre-takeoff engine check, the CFI and commercial pilot departed to practice some landings at nearby airports. The commercial pilot was flying, and both pilots described the flight to a local airport as uneventful. While turning onto the 'base leg' of the traffic pattern, at a power setting of 1,900 rpm, about 800 to 900 feet above ground level, the pilot attempted to increase engine power by moving the throttle forward; however, there was no response from engine. He then told the CFI 'there's no power.' The CFI confirmed that the throttle was unresponsive, and noticed that the engine rpm was slowly dropping. The CFI attempted to restart engine without success, and performed a forced landing to trees, which were located about 1/4 mile from the runway. Both pilots were wearing headsets, and said they did not hear any unusual noises or power changes prior to the loss of engine power. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-accident failures or malfunctions. The airplane had been operated for about 390 hours since new and was maintained under an approved manufacturer inspection program. Test-runs of the engine revealed a rich mixture operation in the idle and 400 pound airflow ranges, and an idle mixture rise of 120 rpm. Fuel flow checks of the fuel injector servo, flow divider, fuel nozzles and lines, revealed the flow divider and nozzles met new production test specifications and exhibited no unusual characteristics. Examination of the fuel servo did not reveal any physical malfunctions; however, a flow check of the fuel servo revealed a mixture that exceeded the rich test specification limits during several test points. Despite the rich mixture indication observed during testing, at no time was a loss of engine power experienced. The temperature and dewpoint reported at an airport about 18 miles south of the accident site, was 82 and 61 degrees F, respectively.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.