Cessna R172 N1609V

Summary

On 8 August 2019 at about 13:55 local time, a Cessna R172 registered N1609V was involved in an accident near North Garden, Virginia, 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

8 August 2019 at 13:55

Classification

Accident

Location

North Garden, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Bundoran (VA18)

Coordinates

37.9633, -78.6764

Aircraft

Cessna R172

Registration

N1609V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hickory → Warrenton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA258

1 person had minor injuries.

A total loss of engine power due to the failure of the oil pump drive gear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was on a cross country flight when an oil pressure warning displayed on the airplane’s flight display. The pilot diverted toward another airport but the engine seized enroute. The pilot performed a forced landing to a field, where the airplane hit obstacles and flipped over. Both wings, the empennage, and the fuselage sustained substantial damage. After the accident the engine was examined and determined to have failed due to an oil starvation event. The oil pump drive gear was found failed and had separated from the shaft portion of the gear assembly. The fracture surfaces were examined, and multiple fracture origins were identified. Improvements to the oil pump drive gear were made and a service bulletin was released in 1996 which required the replacement of the drive gear at the next engine overhaul. The engine examination determined that this service bulletin had not been complied with. The maintenance records that were provided only went back two years and covered two annual inspections of the engine. The most recent annual inspection record indicated that the engine had been overhauled and had accumulated 1,975 hours since overhaul. The record of the overhaul was not in the maintenance records received by investigators.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.