Cessna 172 N785SP

Summary

On 28 July 2018 at about 14:45 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N785SP was involved in an accident near Mount Vernon, Ohio, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 July 2018 at 14:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Mount Vernon, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Knox County (4I3)

Coordinates

40.3289, -82.5261

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N785SP

Category

Airplane

Year built

2001

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newark → Zanesville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR18LA207

1 person had minor injuries.

An in-flight fuel-fed fire from an unknown source for reasons that could not be determined due to the extensive fire damage to the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that, several minutes after takeoff for the personal flight, he maneuvered the airplane to enter the traffic pattern to practice touch-and-go landings. Shortly after, he noticed a fire near the rudder pedals. He expedited his approach, and the fire continued to grow while he landed the airplane. After landing, he safely egressed from the airplane; a few seconds later, the cockpit area was engulfed in flames. The airplane was destroyed. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed evidence of a fuel-fed fire that had emanated from the rear, lower center portion of the engine. Extensive thermal damage was in the area where the mechanical fuel pump is mounted to the oil cooler. The oil cooler's bottom hose connection was separated from the oil cooler, and the fuel pump's bottom portion was missing. Due to the fire damage, the exact initiation point and source of the fire could not be determined. There were no maintenance write-ups indicating a fuel leak or odors in the previous 20 flight hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.