Cessna 172P N6187K

Summary

On 15 October 1996 at about 17:05 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N6187K, operated by Sierra Academy, Inc., was involved in an accident near Kingsburg, California, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 October 1996 at 17:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Kingsburg, California, United States

Coordinates

36.4809, -119.5001

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N6187K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Sierra Academy, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Livermore → Porterville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97LA018

1 person had minor injuries.

the student pilot's use of an excessively lean mixture, which led to engine overheating, detonation, subsequent failure of the number 2 piston, and a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

As a student pilot was en route on his third supervised solo cross-country flight, the engine suddenly began running rough. Oil was observed to cover most of the front windscreen. Subsequently, the engine lost power, the student made a forced landing in a clearing, and the airplane collided with a tree and a building. An FAA inspector performed an examination of the wreckage, and observed a 2-inch diameter hole in the engine's upper case in the vicinity of the number 2 cylinder. A further examination revealed that the connecting rod to the number 2 piston was disconnected from the piston due to a failure of the piston skirt in the piston pin area. The rings on all pistons appeared to have been sticking, with over temperature signatures noted on all the intake and exhaust valves. The tops of the piston were abnormally clean. The engine had a total time of 3,794.5 hours since new and 1,987.0 hours since the last major overhaul.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.