Cessna 172M N5177H

Summary

On 8 July 2022 at about 00:15 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N5177H was involved in an accident near Friend, Nebraska, United States. 2 people were 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

8 July 2022 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Friend, Nebraska, United States

Coordinates

40.6900, -97.2200

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N5177H

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Loup City → Crete

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA309

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to a stuck valve.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he noticed a slight hesitation in the engine, followed by backfiring and a large drop in engine speed while in cruise flight at 2,000 ft above ground level. He was able to regain partial power for a few minutes before the engine lost additional power. The pilot performed a forced landing between two corn fields, where the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage due to impact with terrain. Postaccident testing of the engine revealed a stuck exhaust valve on the No. 2 cylinder that resulted in the loss of engine power during cruise flight. No other anomalies were noted with the engine or related systems that would have precluded normal operations of the engine. Thus, the stuck exhaust valve likely resulted in the partial loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.