Cessna 172S N35073

Summary

On 17 August 2002 at about 15:29 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N35073 was involved in an accident near Plainville, Connecticut, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 August 2002 at 15:29

Classification

Accident

Location

Plainville, Connecticut, United States

Nearest airport

Robertson Field Airport (4B8)

Coordinates

41.6853, -72.8667

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N35073

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Plainville → Montauk

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD02FA086

2 people died.

An in-flight engine compartment fire of unknown origin, and a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Also causal, was the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during a turn back to the airfield, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent impact with the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Several witnesses observed black smoke trailing the airplane immediately after takeoff, and one witness saw a "small orange ball" immediately behind the propeller. One witness also noticed that the engine noise had changed, as if the engine had experienced a power reduction, another heard the engine "cut-out," and a third heard the engine "sputter." About 400 feet, a nose-high, left turn was initiated back towards the airport, and the airplane subsequently "banked steeply downward" until it impacted the ground. The wreckage path was about 70 feet in length. Due to the severity of a post-impact fire, the origin of the in-flight fire and loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.