Cessna 172N N738WD

Summary

On 24 June 2000 at about 12:15 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N738WD was involved in an accident near Atlantic Ocean. 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.

Date

24 June 2000 at 12:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Atlantic Ocean

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N738WD

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bahamas → Ft Lauderdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL00LA066

Nobody was injured.

Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor was the pilot failed to use carburetor heat during the descent.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, on the day before the accident, the airplane was fueled with 10 gallons of fuel. He stated that this gave the airplane a total of 25 gallons prior to departing the Grand Bahamas. After takeoff, the pilot climbed to a cruise altitude of 6500 feet. Approximately 42 nautical miles off Freeport, he began an initial descent to 4,500 feet, then 3,500 feet. When the pilot applied throttle following the descent, there was no engine response. The engine remained at idle and the pilot ditched the airplane near a commercial boat. All four occupants were rescued without injuries. The airplane was not recovered, and therefore the engine was not examined. Weather conditions were favorable for the formation of carburetor ice, and carburetor heat was not used during the descent.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.