Cessna 172S N980SP

Summary

On 7 February 2001 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N980SP was involved in an incident near Ruston, Louisiana, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 February 2001 at 21:00

Classification

Incident

Location

Ruston, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

32.5309, -92.6297

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N980SP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ruston → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW01IA062

Nobody was injured.

the loss of engine power while manuevering as a result of an incorrect mixture control adjustment. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the ensuing forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and the student pilot were practicing power-off stalls in the local practice area. In preparation for a power-off stall maneuver, the student pilot performed "the flow checklist (fuel valve on both, mixture rich), and had reduced power in order to slow [the] speed." Shortly after this procedure, the engine lost power. The engine failed to restart, and the flight instructor executed a forced landing to a field, and the airplane impacted a fence. During a post-incident engine run, the engine repeatedly lost total power after the throttle was reduced to idle. The engine manufacturer representative adjusted the mixture control wheel, located on the fuel injector unit, "eight turns toward the lean setting." The engine was restarted, and when the throttle was reduced to the idle position, the engine continued to run. Inspection of the operator's fleet revealed that the idle mixture controls of several other airplanes of the same make and model were also out of adjustment.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.