Cessna 172N N9400E

Summary

On 6 August 2014 at about 13:30 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N9400E was involved in an accident near Valkaria, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one 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 August 2014 at 13:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Valkaria, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Valkaria (X59)

Coordinates

27.9608, -80.5583

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N9400E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Valkaria → Valkaria

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14CA375

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's misjudgment of speed and distance on final approach during a precautionary landing, resulting in a touchdown off the departure end of the runway and collision with terrain. A factor in the accident was a partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined in post accident testing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the student pilot, she had just landed after a local instructional flight.  Her instructor completed the solo endorsement in her logbook as they taxied back to the arrival end of the runway 28.  The student pilot then taxied on to runway 28 for departure.   She applied full throttle and the airplane lifted off the runway normally.  At approximately 500 feet above ground level the engine began to run rough and dropped to 1900 RPMs.  The student pilot immediately lowered the nose of the airplane to attain best glide speed and started a left hand turn to return to the airport. She attempted to land on runway 10. Approximately 20 seconds after the engine began running rough the pilot applied the carburetor heat and then reduced the throttle to idle. The student pilot did not attempt however to increase power after the application of carburetor heat and the throttle remained in the idle position for the remainder of the approach.  The pilot then applied full flaps as the airplane was descending over midfield.  The airplane overflew the runway and touched down in the grass immediately off the departure end of runway 10.  The airplane subsequently struck a fence and nosed over. Post accident examination of the airplane and engine showed no evidence of mechanical failure or malfunction. The engine was started and operated with no signs of failure. A review of the carburetor icing probability chart shows the aircraft was operating in conditions that were not conductive to carburetor icing at the time of the accident. The pilot had 43 total flight hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.