Cessna 152 N714UY

Summary

On 20 July 2017 at about 23:50 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N714UY was involved in an accident near Tamarac, Florida, 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

20 July 2017 at 23:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Tamarac, Florida, United States

Coordinates

26.2283, -80.3086

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N714UY

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Lauderdale → Fort Lauderdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA254

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's failure to ensure that the airplane's fuel system was free of water contamination before departing, which resulted in a total loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the flight instructor, the student pilot performed a preflight inspection of the airplane before their training flight, and she observed him sample fuel from the left fuel tank four times to get water out of the tank. After the last sample, she observed no water. She did not observe fuel from the right fuel tank being sampled; however, the student pilot told her there was "a little water" in the right tank. She then performed her own preflight inspection and found no anomalies. They departed with the student pilot flying. During the first steep turn to the right, the engine lost total power; the student pilot leveled the wings, and engine power was restored. The flight instructor decided to return to the airport immediately. During the return flight, the engine lost total power again. The flight instructor performed a forced landing to a levy, during which the airplane flipped over and sustained substantial damage. Postaccident fuel samples taken from the lower fuselage drain and gascolator were contaminated with significant amounts of water. It is likely that this water contamination in the fuel resulted in the total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.