Whidbey Air Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Langley, Washington 98260
Tuesady, August 5, 1997 14:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that while in cruise flight, the engine rpm dropped and the airplane began to shake. The pilot checked the gauges, the throttle and mixture, the magnetos, fuel valve position, and found nothing wrong. The pilot stated that he notified air traffic of the loss of engine power, and diverted to a nearby airpark. The pilot entered the pattern and set-up for a short field landing, however, due to a tailwind, sloping terrain, and excess airspeed, the airplane floated a considerable distance down the runway. The pilot stated that when the airplane touched down, he realized that he did not have enough runway left to stop, and opted to turn off the runway onto a steep uphill taxiway. During the roll up this taxiway, the right wing struck trees and spun the airplane around 180 degrees. During the postcrash inspection of the engine, the exhaust valve for the number three cylinder was found broken.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A failed exhaust valve. Factors were tailwind and excessive airspeed during the ensuing forced landing. .

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/5/1997
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City LANGLEY
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98260
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport WHIDBEY AIR PARK
Event Location Nearest Airport ID WA31
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 260
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1040
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 5 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1502
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:30PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N73158
NTSB Number SEA97LA186
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier 172M
Aircraft Serial Number 17267294
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 8 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 68
Airframe Hours 1886
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CAROL DONNELLY
Aircraft Owner Street Address 600 S. STATE STREET #304
Aircraft Owner City BELLINGHAM
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98225
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name SVEN LINCKE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1810 SCOUT PLACE
Operator City FERNDALE
Operator State WA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 98248
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BLI
Departure City BELLINGHAM
Departure State WA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1320
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PAE
Destination City EVERETT
Destination State WA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 16
Runway Length 2400
Runway Width 25
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --