Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Troutdale, Oregon 97060
Thursday, June 20, 2002 12:47 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot flew an uneventful one hour flight in the Continental O-300-D equipped Cessna 172E and then departed on a second one hour flight after topping off the fuel tanks. Both flights were being conducted as maintenance checks following the replacement of all six cylinder piston rings and the re-honing of all six cylinders. While on final approach to runway 25 the pilot encountered "very rough turbulence" as he was reducing power and the engine lost power. The pilot believed that he could not make the field and executed a 180 degrees course reversal landing off airport in an area of soft terrain covered by high grass. During the landing roll the aircraft's nose gear collapsed. On site examination revealed fuel in the aircraft's fuel system immediately following the forced landing. Post crash examination revealed no evidence of any mechanical malfunction with the engine, ignition, air delivery or fuel system. The only discrepancy noted was the non-functionality of the aircraft's right wing gas cap vent, which was required under FAA Airworthiness Directive 79-10-14R. Examination revealed that the rubber gasket would not unseat and allowed normal venting. The left fuel tank vent was examined and found to function satisfactorily. The engine was subsequently test run with a new carburetor and then the reassembled original (accident) carburetor with satisfactory results. The fuel system was examined and no blockages were found within any of the lines and no particulates were found in any of the fuel filters.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for an undetermined (non-mechanical) reason. Contributing factors were high grass and soft terrain which lead to the collapse of the nose gear during the landing roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/20/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1247
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Troutdale
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97060
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 543258N
Event Location Longitude 1222145W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 250
Weather Observation Facility ID TTD
Elevation of weather observation facility 39
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.91
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12892
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date Jun 20 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1257
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 15 2003 4:03PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland (Hillsboro), OR

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5383T
NTSB Number SEA02LA107
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17251283
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 Jan 2 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 9
Airframe Hours 2238
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Betty J. Larson & Leslie A. Dickinson
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Portland
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97216
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Carric A. Scott
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Troutdale
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 97060
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code TTD
Departure City Troutdale
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1150
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code TTD
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 2 2002 1:36PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --