Aviation Crash Map

Cessna 172 N3015E

24 December 2018 · Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 24 December 2018 at about 18:44 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N3015E was involved in an accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. 4 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.

The record

Date
at 18:44
Classification
Accident
Location
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Coordinates
25.9094, -80.1206
Aircraft
Cessna 172
Registration
N3015E
Category
Airplane
Year built
1978
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
ERA19LA079

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
4 0 0 0 4

Probable cause

A total loss of engine power due to the fatigue fracture of the No. 2 exhaust rocker arm stud.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the flight instructor, he and a student pilot were conducting a local, instructional flight. The instructor reported that, while flying about 800 ft above a shoreline, the engine started to vibrate, and it then lost all power. He tried to restart the engine twice to no avail. On the third attempt, the engine started, but it would not produce more than 1,200 rpm. The instructor saw people on the beach and decided to land on the water. When the main landing gear touched down on the water, the airplane immediately flipped over, which resulted in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder.   Examination of the engine revealed that the No. 2 exhaust rocker arm stud was fractured. Metallurgical examination of the fracture surfaces on the rocker arm stud revealed that it had fractured due to fatigue. The fatigue fracture of the No. 2 exhaust rocker arm stud likely led to the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

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All 12,209 records for this type

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All 170,864 records in United States