Probable cause
The loss of engine power due to a restriction of fuel flow as a result of a fractured float bracket in the carburetor.
NTSB analysis
The flight instructor reported that the flight was intended to review maneuvers. On the return to their home airport, the engine lost power. The instructor performed an emergency landing in a field where the airplane’s right wing sustained substantial damage when it struck a tree. The postaccident examination of the engine revealed that a float bracket within the carburetor fractured due to cyclic fatigue. This failure would have resulted in a restriction of fuel flow, and the loss of engine power described by the flight instructor. The fracture originated at the bracket’s interior edge with no other anomalies noted.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA24LA016 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Oct 21, 2023
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Richmond, Virginia
- Nearest airport
- Hanover County Municipal Airpo (OFP)
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna 172L
- N-number
- N7716G
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1971
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.