Cessna 172 N2492U

Summary

On 7 July 2017 at about 13:50 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N2492U was involved in an accident near Cape Coral, 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

7 July 2017 at 13:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Cape Coral, Florida, United States

Coordinates

26.6372, -81.9761

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N2492U

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Myers → Fort Myers

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA234

1 person had minor injuries.

A total loss of engine power due to fuel contamination with water and the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection that detected, but did not fully resolve, the water contamination of the fuel system.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot indicated that he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane before the local flight and noticed a small amount of water drain from the fuel tanks while sampling fuel from them. After an engine run up, he did not notice any anomalies and departed. While in cruise flight at an altitude of 1,200 ft above ground level, the engine lost power, and the pilot changed his course to return to the departure airport. During the return to the airport, the engine lost total power. The pilot began an emergency descent and conducted a forced landing, during which the airplane struck power lines, collided with the ground, and nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed a mixture of water and fuel draining from the right fuel tank. Examination of the carburetor revealed a significant amount of corrosion within the carburetor; several large flakes of corroded material were at the bottom of the fuel bowl, and one flake was within the mixture control housing, indicating that water had likely been present in the fuel system for an extended period of time. Given this information, it is likely that water contamination of the fuel ultimately resulted in the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.