Cessna 172 N924MM

Summary

On 18 October 2018 at about 14:57 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N924MM, operated by Liberty University, was involved in an accident near Lynchburg, Virginia, 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

18 October 2018 at 14:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Lynchburg, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Lynchburg Regional (LYH)

Coordinates

37.3300, -79.2000

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N924MM

Category

Airplane

Year built

2010

Engines

1

Operator

Liberty University

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lynchburg → Lynchburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19LA019

Nobody was injured.

The stuck No. 2 cylinder exhaust valve, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power and a subsequent forced landing and impact with a ditch.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, shortly after the student pilot conducted the takeoff for the instructional flight, they felt the engine vibrate and the airplane shudder. They then noticed that the rpm had decreased and that the engine's performance had degraded. The instructor took the controls and lowered the nose to prevent a stall. He attempted to land on the intersecting runway, and the airplane touched down with about 100 ft of runway remaining. Realizing that the airplane could not be stopped within the remaining runway, the instructor steered the airplane right to avoid a steep drop-off past the runway end. The airplane subsequently impacted a ditch and then came to rest in grass in a nose-down position. The left wing sustained substantial damage.   Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the No. 2 cylinder exhaust valve was stuck open. Given this evidence, it is likely that the stuck exhaust valve resulted in the partial loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.