Cessna 172G N4368L

Summary

On 4 November 2006 at about 09:40 local time, a Cessna 172G registered N4368L was involved in an accident near Dalton, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 November 2006 at 09:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Dalton, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Dalton Muni (DNN)

Coordinates

34.7203, -84.8686

Aircraft

Cessna 172G

Registration

N4368L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Smyrna → Dalton

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ATL07CA015

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper starting procedures, which resulted in an on-ground engine fire.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he made a short cross-country flight to drop off a passenger. After the passenger's baggage was unloaded, the pilot returned to his airplane to depart. During the restart of the engine, a small flame "shot" from the exhaust pipe. The pilot stated that [he] "thought the engine exhaust was overheated, and he was going to let it cool down". He waited approximately 10 minutes before attempting to restart the engine. The pilot stated that he made a visual inspection of the engine compartment, and everything was in proper working order. During the second attempt to restart the engine the exhaust pipe caught on fire. The pilot jumped out of the airplane and attempted to extinguish the fire, but was unsuccessful. The pilot attempted to push the airplane away from the flames, but they were streaming from the engine compartment. The stream of fire led to the engine compartment where the fire became intense, and consumed the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.