Cessna 172RG N4823V

Summary

On 24 March 2001 at about 00:45 local time, a Cessna 172RG registered N4823V was involved in an accident near Waco, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 March 2001 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Waco, Texas, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172RG

Registration

N4823V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Worth → Georgetown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

FTW01LA085

Nobody was injured.

the failure of the number four cylinder exhaust valve which resulted in a total loss of engine power during cruise. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While in cruise flight, the engine "began to vibrate excessively and would not produce enough power to maintain altitude." Approximately 5 miles from an alternate airport, the engine "quit completely and locked up," and the pilot initiated a forced landing to a field. The airplane touched down in the field, struck a fence and a ditch, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. Examination of the engine revealed that the number four exhaust valve separated from its stem and was found "wedged" in the spark plug hole. The number four exhaust valve push-rod and push-rod tube were bent aft at the cam follower end. According to the engine maintenance records, the engine was field overhauled on June 22, 1999, and had accumulated approximately 450 flight hours since overhaul at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.