NTSB Factual Report

On August 27, 2018, about 1350 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172G (Skyhawk) airplane, N4379L, lost engine power and impacted a remote soybean field about 8 miles northeast of Rushville, Indiana. The left seat private pilot and the right seat passenger sustained minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a visual flight rules personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from the Greater Portsmouth Regional Airport (PMH), Portsmouth, Ohio, about 1220.

The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to fly cross-country to visit family members. The pilot landed at PMH and topped off both fuel tanks. She reported that after refueling, she attempted to start the engine, and noted that the primer "didn't have much resistance." The airplane sat for about 10 minutes, the pilot started the airplane without further incident, and departed for the flight. During the second engine start sequence, she reported no abnormalities with the primer. The next planned stop after PMH was for Crawfordsville Municipal Airport (CFJ), Crawfordsville, Indiana.

After the departure climb from PMH, the engine temporarily "sputtered" and then operated normally. While in cruise flight about 2,900 ft above mean sea level (msl) and traveling about 85 knots with a heading of 300°, the engine "sputtered" and ceased producing power. The pilot stated the outside air temperature gauge indicated about 80° Fahrenheit and she did not believe the engine was experiencing carburetor icing conditions. The pilot did not remember what temperature the carburetor temperate gauge was displaying at the time. The engine speed decreased to 1,500 to 1,000 rpm. The pilot advanced the mixture to the full rich position and the engine "smoothed out a little." The airplane descended to about 2,000 ft msl and the engine began "sputtering" again and the engine speed decreased to about 1,000 rpm and ceased producing power. The pilot attempted to troubleshoot the engine power loss without applying carburetor heat but was not successful in regaining engine power.

The pilot reported that her aeronautical navigational chart displayed a private airstrip close to her current location for executing a forced landing. The pilot elected to not land at the private airstrip due to her airspeed and altitude, and instead choose to land to an open soybean field. During the forced landing sequence, she attempted to maneuver the airplane between a power line pole and several trees. The airplane impacted the powerlines and came to rest slightly nose down in the field. The pilot and passenger were able to egress from the airplane without further incident.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage from the impact sequence. On August 27, two aviation safety inspectors (ASI) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Indianapolis Flight Standards District Office traveled to the accident site to document the wreckage and interview the two occupants. The ASIs noted that the both the left and right wing fuel tanks had an adequate amount of usable fuel for the flight to CFJ with no breaching of either fuel tank occurring. The wreckage was recovered from the accident site and transported to a secure location for a future examination of the airframe and engine.

On August 30, an airframe and engine examination were performed by an airframe and powerplant mechanic under the supervision of the FAA. During the examination, no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures were noted with the airframe and engine. An examination of the airplane's maintenance records revealed no evidence of uncorrected mechanical discrepancies with the airframe and engine.

The airplane was equipped with an analog carburetor temperature gauge. The gauge was located on the right side of the cockpit, about 6 inches to the right and level with the control yoke base. The gauge displayed a temperature range of -20° Celsius (C) to 20° C, with the displayed placard, "keep needle out of yellow arc during possible carburetor icing conditions." The yellow arc extends from -15° C to 5° C, and the green arc extends from 5° C to 20° C. Between the control yoke base and the carburetor temperature gauge was an engine cylinder temperature gauge, which was the same dimensions as the carburetor temperature gauge.

The four-seat capacity airplane, serial number 17254458, was manufactured in 1966. The airplane was equipped with a 145 horsepower Continental O-300 series carbureted engine.