MCALLEN, TX, USA
N94290
Cessna 152
The flight instructor reported that while climbing through 1,500 feet, 'the engine temperature was increasing more than normal.' After a few minutes had passed, the instructor noticed that the oil temperature gauge needle was in the red arc. The instructor lowered the nose to cool the engine; however, the engine lost total power. After several attempts to restart the engine had failed, the instructor initiated a forced landing to an airstrip. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted trees, the nose and right main landing gear separated, and the fuselage buckled aft. Post accident-examination by an FAA inspector revealed no anomalies with the engine.
On June 19, 2000, at 1850 central daylight time, a Cessna 152 airplane, N94290, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near McAllen, Texas. The airplane was registered to and operated by McCreery Aviation Co., Inc., of McAllen, Texas. The flight instructor and the student pilot did not receive injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The local flight departed the McAllen Airport approximately 10 minutes prior to the accident. The flight instructor reported that while climbing through 1,500 feet, "the engine temperature was increasing more than normal." The flight instructor lowered the nose to cool the engine; however, a few minutes had passed when he noticed that the oil temperature gauge needle was in the red arc, subsequently, the engine lost total power. After several attempts to restart the engine had failed, the instructor initiated a forced landing to an airstrip northwest of the McAllen Miller International Airport near McAllen, Texas. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted trees approximately 50-60 feet short of the airstrip. Subsequently, the nose and right main landing gear separated, and the airplane's fuselage buckled aft. The accident flight was the second flight for the student pilot. According to the engine logbook, on June 5, 2000, the Lycoming O-235-N2C engine (serial number L-1257215), had accumulated 2,300.6 hours total time, received an oil change, and was serviced with 6 quarts of Aeroshell 100W oil, and no metal particles were found in the oil filter. On June 19th and 20th, 2000, an FAA inspector and a certified aircraft mechanic examined the aircraft. The engine "pulled through" at the accident site with no evidence of binding internally. Fuel samples from both fuel tanks revealed no evidence of fuel contamination, and the tanks were drained containing a "minimum of 40 gallons." Fuel system continuity was verified, and no anomalies were revealed with the fuel system. The oil quantity could not be measured due to a damaged quick drain fitting on the oil pan. The oil filter was removed, inspected, and no evidence of contamination was observed. The paper filter was sent to Aviation Laboratories, of Kenner, Louisiana, and the results concluded the "patch sent has normal wear particles." All the engine cooling baffles were observed to be in their correct position. A compression test was performed on all the cylinders with readings of 71 or 72 over 80. No anomalies were noted with the ignition system of the engine. The examination revealed no anomalies with the engine. At the time of the accident, the engine had accumulated 2,319.3 hours total time.
Loss of engine power for reasons undetermined. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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