Event WPR22LA076

Factual narrative

On January 09, 2022, about 1409 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172H, N8056L, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Los Angeles, California. The private pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, the accident occurred during the airplane's first flight of the day. The airplane was stored outdoors for several weeks prior to the accident flight. During the pilot’s preflight airplane inspection, he observed water in the fuel tanks. He reported that he took a fuel sample from the left wing fuel tank, because he could see water in the tank through the filler port. He extracted about one ounce of water from the left tank and derived that, “there wasn't that much water in the fuel system.” The pilot reported that the airplane was fueled several weeks prior to the accident. He affirmed that the left wing fuel tank contained 2 gallons of 100LL and the right wing fuel tank contained 16 gallons of 100LL before starting the engine. He started the engine with the fuel selector in the BOTH tank position and ran the engine about 2 minutes, before he contacted the Whiteman Airport, Los Angeles, California (WHP) ground controller at 1404. He subsequently contacted the tower controller at 1406 to report holding short of runway 12 for departure. The pilot recalled that the flaps were set to 0° and the mixture was rich, but he could not recall if the airplane had a trim wheel. At 1408 the accident airplane was cleared for takeoff from runway 12, and the pilot taxied onto the active runway and applied full power initiating the takeoff roll. During the initial climb, about 200 ft, the engine lost power. He attempted to restart the engine by turning the ignition key to engage the starter, but the engine did not restart. At 1409 the pilot transmitted a May Day call to the tower controller and initiated a turn to the right. At 1410 the airplane impacted the ground and came to rest on an active railroad crossing. Moments later, bystanders extracted the pilot from the accident airplane, just before the airplane was struck by a Metrolink passenger train. Climatological observation records from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed that during the weeks leading up to the accident, rain was observed in and around WHP. The observation indicated that the presence of rain was detected a total of 18 days while the airplane was stored outdoors. Postaccident examination of the accident airframe revealed that the right wing tank fuel cap was present, but missing the silicone vent. The right fuel cap rubber gasket was hard to the touch, brittle, and portions of the outer gasket had deteriorated and were missing. The left wing tank fuel cap was present, but the rubber gasket was hard to the touch, brittle, and portions of the outer gasket had deteriorated and were missing. Continuity of the fuel system was observed from the left and right wing fuel tank inboard fuel pickups, through the fuel selector and gascolator using compressed air to verify volumetric flow. The gascolator was disassembled and revealed about 1 teaspoon of a white, granulated, corrosion substance. Internally, the gascolater bowl was pitted, and the filter screen revealed a vivid line of corrosion emanating from the top left to the bottom right, consistent with the accident airplane’s postimpact resting position. The presence of rust and the corroded substance were observed throughout the gascolator. The carburetor was disassembled and about ½ teaspoon of the corroded substance was extracted from the fuel inlet screen. Rust, and the corroded substance were observed throughout the carburetor. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation. The pilot reported that the airplane was stored outdoors for several weeks before the accident flight. The pilot observed water in the left fuel tank during the preflight inspection and he extracted about 1 ounce of water before he derived that there wasn’t much water in the fuel system. He started the engine, taxied onto the runway, and took off to the southeast. During the initial climb, the engine lost power about 200 ft above ground level. The pilot declared an emergency to the tower controller and initiated a descending right turn. The airplane impacted the ground and came to rest on an active railroad crossing. The pilot was extracted from the accident airplane moments before it was struck by a passenger train. During the weeks prior to the accident, it had rained for 18 days. Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed that the right and left wing tank fuel cap gaskets were deteriorated and were not intact. Excessive quantities of corrosion and rust were observed throughout the gascolator and the carburetor. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation. It is likely that the deteriorated fuel caps allowed water to enter the fuel tanks when rain was present and that water remained in the airplane's fuel system after the pilot’s preflight inspection and engine runup. A total loss of power during the initial climbout likely occurred when the contaminated fuel reached the engine. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Water-Fluid condition
• — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-(general)-Damaged/degraded