Cessna 172N N6360D

Summary

On 26 June 2008 at about 23:30 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N6360D, operated by California Flight Academy, was involved in an accident near El Cajon, California, 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

26 June 2008 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

El Cajon, California, United States

Nearest airport

Gillespie Field Airport (KSEE)

Coordinates

32.9500, -116.9667

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N6360D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

California Flight Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

El Cajon → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08LA206

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to carburetor ice resulting from the flight instructor's failure to use the carburetor heat when simulating an engine failure. Contributing to the accident were the carburetor icing weather condition and 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

During a dual instructional flight, while over a reservoir, the certified flight instructor (CFI) simulated an engine failure by retarding the throttle. After about 1 minute of procedures at idle, the CFI applied power, but the engine did not respond. The CFI performed a forced landing to a field on a ranch. During landing, the left wing tip struck the ground, and the left wing sustained structural damage. The engine operated normally during a post accident test run. The temperature and dew point at the nearest reporting point about 6 nautical miles from the accident site near the time of the accident were recorded as 75 degrees Fahrenheit and 55 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. Plotting these values on a carburetor icing probability chart indicated that the airplane was operating in the range for serious icing at glide power. According to the operator, the CFI did not apply carburetor heat prior to retarding the throttle during the simulated engine failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.