Cessna 172E N3982S

Summary

On 23 May 2007 at about 20:55 local time, a Cessna 172E registered N3982S was involved in an accident near Leesburg, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 May 2007 at 20:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Leesburg, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Leesburg Municipal Airport (JYO)

Coordinates

39.0636, -77.6367

Aircraft

Cessna 172E

Registration

N3982S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Leesburg → Culpeper

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC07LA125

1 person had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power that resulted from the failure of an exhaust valve rocker arm during cruise.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was relocating a Cessna 172E for the airplane's annual maintenance inspection. During the flight, the engine suffered a partial loss of power and began to "shake and misfire violently." The pilot then attempted to control the engine by adjusting the throttle and mixture controls, without result. As the airplane descended, the pilot looked for a place to land and spotted an open field. After turning final, he extended his wing flaps to the 40-degree position and touched down. During the emergency landing the airplane approached a ditch. The pilot attempted to get over the ditch by raising the flaps, but the airplane struck the far side of the ditch. During a postaccident examination of the engine, it was discovered that the No.2 cylinder's exhaust valve rocker arm was fractured and had separated into two parts. The initial fracture on the exhaust valve rocker arm was on the push rod side of the arm. This fracture had features indicative of overstress. The fracture on the valve side of the arm was secondary to the overstress fracture on the push rod side. The fatigue cracking at this location appeared to be the result of bending loads generated after the fracture on the push rod side was created. The fracture on the push rod side of the arm was generated from some type of high load event, possibly during an overhaul 34.8 hours prior to the accident. The pilot/owner had purchased one of the cylinders on "eBay," and there were discrepancies in the engine maintenance records.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.