Cessna 172 E N37065

Summary

On 2 July 2002 at about 02:15 local time, a Cessna 172 E registered N37065, operated by Scott C Devlin, was involved in an accident near Battle Ground, Washington, United States. One person was 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

2 July 2002 at 02:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Battle Ground, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Cedars North Airpark (W58)

Coordinates

45.8733, -122.5150

Aircraft

Cessna 172 E

Registration

N37065

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Scott C Devlin

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Camas → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA02LA117

Nobody was injured.

Improper maintenance procedures by maintenance personnel, which resulted in an engine oil leak while in flight. A factor was the pilot's misjudgment of distance during the precautionary landing which led to a runway overrun.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, the aircraft lost oil pressure shortly after takeoff. During the landing attempt at a nearby airport, the aircraft overran the end of the runway and collided with a tree. A post-accident engine run and wreckage examination revealed that the aircraft's engine developed an extensive engine oil leak during the accident flight, and during a post-accident engine run. According to the FAA Inspector, and the operator of the aircraft, the leak originated from the engine accessory area where the oil temperature bulb attaches to the oil screen assembly. The operator reported that the oil temperature bulb appeared to have been improperly installed during an oil change that occurred approximately 15 minutes prior to the accident flight. The pilot of the accident aircraft, a certified mechanic, supervised the oil change that was performed by a non-certified mechanic who was employed by the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.