Cessna 172M N172BJ

Summary

On 7 December 2012 at about 20:57 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N172BJ, operated by Dutch Wings LLC, was involved in an accident near Arcola, 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

7 December 2012 at 20:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Arcola, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Houston Southwest Airport (AXH)

Coordinates

29.3691, -95.4503

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N172BJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Dutch Wings LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Arcola → Beamont

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA104

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power during initial climb for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power while climbing through 500 feet above ground level. The flight instructor took the controls and performed a landing on a freshly plowed field, which resulted in the airplane nosing over. Postaccident examination of the engine and associated components did not reveal any mechanical failure. The examination revealed that the right fuel tank contained about one gallon of fuel and the left fuel tank was almost full. The master switch was in the on position, the key switch was in the off position, and the fuel selector was in the off position. The airplane was fueled before the flight, but the reason for the fuel imbalance between fuel tanks could not be determined. It is unknown if the fuel selector was on the left tank during the flight and then placed in the off position after the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.