Cessna 172D N172TJ

Summary

On 27 June 2009 at about 14:10 local time, a Cessna 172D registered N172TJ, operated by Joseph L. Tapay, was involved in an accident near Shepherdsville, Kentucky, 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

27 June 2009 at 14:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Shepherdsville, Kentucky, United States

Coordinates

37.9007, -85.4605

Aircraft

Cessna 172D

Registration

N172TJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Joseph L. Tapay

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Louiosville → Bardstown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09LA372

Nobody was injured.

The mechanic's improper inspection of the mixture control cable.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was in cruise flight between 1,700 and 2,200 feet mean sea level when the engine rpms decreased. He applied throttle with negative results. The airplane continued to descend and he performed a forced landing to a soybean field. Review of the airplane logbooks revealed that the airplane had flown 2.29 hours since the last annual inspection. Postaccident examination of the airframe and flight controls revealed no anomalies; however, the mixture control cable was found to be separated from the mixture control arm. The mixture cable wire tip was not bent 90 degrees to prevent it from being withdrawn if the attaching nut should become loose, as required by the maintenance manual. The cable did not exhibit any signs of damage or stretching, and it was not broken at the attach point to the attaching bolt in the mixture control arm of the carburetor. The mechanic who performed the last annual inspection stated that he did not remember if he did or did not bend the cable 90 degrees.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.