Probable cause
A total loss of engine power due to crankshaft failure as the result of a subsurface fatigue crack.
NTSB analysis
While maneuvering during a local instructional flight, the engine began running rough, and the instructor decided to return to the airport. The engine subsequently lost total power and the propeller stopped rotating. The instructor performed a forced landing to a clearing where the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage.
Examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft was fractured at the No. 4 connecting rod journal. The fracture surface was flat and crack arrest lines were consistent with a fatigue fracture which initiated subsurface. No flaws or embedded particles were observed at the site of the fatigue initiation.
The engine was overhauled about 3 years before the accident and had accumulated 2,798 hours of operation since the overhaul.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR18LA181 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Jun 26, 2018
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Nearest airport
- Phoenix Deer Valley (DVT)
- Highest injury
- Minor
- Minor injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna 172S
- N-number
- N154ME
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2000
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Business
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.