Cessna 172M N21391

Summary

On 6 November 2012 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N21391 was involved in an accident near Modesto, California, 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

6 November 2012 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Modesto, California, United States

Nearest airport

Modesto (MOD)

Coordinates

37.4678, -121.0736

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N21391

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Modesto → Modesto

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13LA035

2 people had minor injuries.

Failure of the throttle control cable during maneuvering flight, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a photography mission, the pilot applied full engine power, and the engine speed dropped to idle. After attempting a series of troubleshooting steps, the engine did not respond, and the pilot performed a forced landing into a field. The airplane landed hard and nosed over. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the outer jacket of the throttle control cable had fragmented at the carburetor attach point, exposing the inner cable. Subsequent throttle control movement resulted in the cable flexing out of the jacket, rather than moving the throttle control arm at the carburetor. No life limit existed for the cable, which was most likely installed at the time of airframe manufacture, 38 years prior to the accident. Further examination of the engine revealed no additional evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.