Cessna 172P N52492

Summary

On 19 November 2017 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N52492, operated by Squadron 2, was involved in an accident near San Jose, California, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured, 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

19 November 2017 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

San Jose, California, United States

Nearest airport

Reid-Hillview of Santa Clara C (RHV)

Coordinates

37.3264, -121.8186

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N52492

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

1

Operator

Squadron 2

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Jose → San Jose

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR18LA034

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot's delayed decision to execute an emergency landing and his attempt to return to the airport following a partial loss of power due to wear on internal engine components, which prevented the engine from developing full-rated power during the airplane's initial climb.  

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the takeoff for the personal flight, as the airplane reached about 50 ft above ground level, the airplane stopped climbing and the pilot was unable to maintain altitude. When the airplane stopped climbing, the pilot and pilot-rated passenger decided to examine the anomaly further as the pilot began a wide, shallow left turn and attempted to maintain altitude. A video showed that as the airplane completed the turn, it entered a steep bank angle and descended. The airplane's wings leveled out just before the airplane disappeared behind trees and impacted a trailer, trees, and a residence, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings, empennage, and fuselage. Examination of the area revealed that, had the pilot initiated an emergency landing straight ahead rather than troubleshooting the engine problem or attempting to return to the airport, the damage may have been reduced. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed the travel of two of the intake valve rockers was severely limited, the camshaft lobe that supported these intake valves was severely worn and had extensive pitting, and spalling damage was on the faces of the camshaft lifters supporting these intake valves. The decreased travel of the intake valves would have reduced the fuel/air mixture reaching the affected cylinders, thus reducing the overall power the engine could produce. A review of maintenance records revealed that owner had not complied with a manufacturer's mandatory service bulletin requiring a rocker arm inspection. While a service bulletin is not mandatory for Part 91 airplane owners, compliance with the service bulletin might have revealed the limited travel of the rocker arms and prevented the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.