NTSB ATL88LA038 — 1987-11-15 · DAYTON, Ohio, United States

Current FAA registration · N7623T

Make / Model: CESSNA 172A
Year of manufacture: 1960 · 27 years old at event
Engine: AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19600120
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S AA4BC9

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N7623T Cessna 172A None

Factual narrative

THE PLT RPTD THAT THE ENGINE BEGAN TO SPUTTER AND LOSE POWER SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF. A FORCED LDG WAS SUBSEQUENTLY MADE IN A NEARBY RIVER. THE ACFT NOSED OVER ON LDG AND CAME TO REST PARTIALLY SUBMERGED IN ABOUT 4 FEET OF WATER. POST-CRASH EXAM OF THE AIRPLANE AFTER IT WAS RECOVERED FROM THE RIVER REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PRE-EXISTING MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. THE ENGINE RAN SATISFACTORILY ON FUEL REMAINING IN THE ACFT FUEL TANKS, AFTER WATER WAS DRAINED FROM THE FUEL SYSTEM AND ENGINE. THERE WERE EXTENSIVE RAIN SHOWERS IN THE AREA. THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED IN CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO CARBURETOR ICE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_ATL88LA038.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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