Cessna 172 N4751F

Summary

On 12 August 2022 at about 02:58 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N4751F, operated by Vector Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Jamestown, New York, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 August 2022 at 02:58

Classification

Accident

Location

Jamestown, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Goose Creek Airport (NY89)

Coordinates

42.0748, -79.3833

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N4751F

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Vector Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jamestown → Wiloughby

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA22LA369

2 people were seriously injured.

A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be definitively determined.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a night cross-country instructional flight, the pilot receiving instruction performed a touch-and-go maneuver. Shortly afterward, during the climb to cruise flight on the return leg, the engine began to lose power. The flight instructor briefly attempted to troubleshoot the engine (including applying carburetor heat); however, he was unable to restore engine power, which remained at idle with the propeller windmilling. Because the airplane would be unable to reach an airport, the flight instructor established the airplane’s best glide speed. The airplane subsequently impacted trees. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the single-drive dual magneto, which remained attached to the engine, would not produce a spark when the engine’s crankshaft was rotated. Internal examination revealed that, when the magneto’s input drive was rotated, neither set of contact points opened. The magneto manufacturer’s service support manual stated that the magneto should be inspected every 500 hours with particular attention focused on rotating parts, bearings, and electrical components. The maintenance logbooks showed no record of 500-hour magneto inspections having been completed during the almost 2,000 hours that the airplane was operated since the operator had purchased it. The weather conditions about the time of the accident were conducive to carburetor icing at cruise and glide engine power settings, and while the instructor applied carburetor heat with no engine power improvement after the engine had begun to faulter, it is possible that the engine might not have been developing sufficient heat by that point to deice an accumulation of ice in the carburetor. Thus, it could not be determined whether the anomalous operation of the magneto’s points that was observed during the postaccident examination, the possible formation of carburetor ice, or a combination of both these factors ultimately resulted in the partial loss of engine power during the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.