Skip to content

CHI94LA160

1994-05-14 · PLAINFIELD, Illinois, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 1C5

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

fuel contamination (water), and inadequate aircraft preflight inspection.

Factual narrative

On May 14, 1994, about 0615 central daylight time, a Cessna 175, N7678M, experienced a loss of engine power during takeoff at Clow International Airport, Plainfield, Illinois, and was substantially damaged when it nosed-over during the subsequent forced landing. The solo private pilot was not injured. No flight plan was filed for the personal flight, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. The pilot stated he was practicing touch-and-go landings. After several takeoffs and landings, he said the engine quit during climbout about 300 feet agl. The engine was examined by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector. The carburetor bowl was found to contain a mixture of fuel and water. Water was also found in the right fuel tank. This flight was the first time the airplane had been flown since October 1993. THE PILOT WAS DOING LOCAL PATTERN WORK PRACTICING TOUCH-AND-GO LANDINGS. THE ENGINE QUIT DURING CLIMBOUT AFTER SEVERAL LANDINGS. THE PILOT MADE AN OFF-AIRPORT FORCED LANDING. THE AIRPLANE NOSED-OVER DURING LANDING. THE CARBURETOR BOWL WAS FOUND TO CONTAIN A MIXTURE OF FUEL AND WATER. WATER WAS ALSO FOUND IN THE RIGHT FUEL TANK. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1994_CHI94LA160.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, fuel contamination). All research papers