Cessna 172G N3682L

Summary

On 20 April 2013 at about 15:30 local time, a Cessna 172G registered N3682L was involved in an accident near Reading, Michigan, United States. One person was 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

20 April 2013 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Reading, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

41.8400, -84.7042

Aircraft

Cessna 172G

Registration

N3682L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Adrian → Joliet

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA232

Nobody was injured.

The partial loss of engine power due to the improper securing of the throttle linkage by maintenance personnel.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while in cruise flight, the engine speed decreased from the selected cruise power setting to 1,900 rpm over a few seconds. The pilot was unable to restore full engine power; therefore, he performed an off-airport landing to a nearby field. The airplane abruptly stopped when it encountered an area of deep mud. A postaccident examination revealed that the throttle control had separated from the carburetor's throttle arm. The corresponding retention hardware was not recovered. The airplane had undergone an annual/100-hour inspection 2 days before the accident flight. The aviation mechanic who performed the inspection and held an inspection authorization certificate reported that, after completing the overhaul of the engine, he could not locate the specified cotter pin used to safety the airframe throttle control to the carburetor throttle arm; therefore, he chose to use safety wire to secure the throttle control assembly instead of the specified cotter pin. Therefore, the throttle control was not properly secured to the carburetor's throttle arm, which allowed them to separate during the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.