Cessna 172F accident near Lynxville, Wisconsin, February 18, 2002
On February 18, 2002 at about 2:00 am local time, a Cessna 172F, registered N5527R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lynxville, Wisconsin. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilots delayed use of carburetor heat during carburetor icing conditions, and the unsuitable terrain encountered for the forced landing. The carburetor icing conditions, the powerline, the brush, and the nose gear collapse were contributing factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 18, 2002 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Lynxville, Wisconsin · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172F · all 172Fs on the register
- Registration
- N5527R · registry record · serial 17253106
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was damaged during a forced landing on a snow covered field following a loss of engine power in cruise flight. The pilot stated that he was in cruise flight for about 40 minutes when a loss of engine power was experienced. He said that he attempted to correct the loss of power with, "...carb[uretor] heat, power settings, change fuel tanks, mixture settings. Nothing worked so made commitement to land." The airplane struck a powerline and brush during the landing attempt. The nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest nose down on a road. The pilot stated that the, "...engine never quit but it would not develop power either." No contamination was found in the fuel system during a postaccident examination of the airplane. An engine run was performed subsequent to the accident and no anomalies were found. A weather reporting station near the accident site recorded the temperature and dewpoint as 3 degrees Celsius, and -6 degrees Celsius respectively. According to a carburetor icing chart, the temperature and dewpoint fall in the range of susceptibility for carburetor icing.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 5,000 as pilot in command; 2,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 1, 2001
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LSE Lacrosse WI at 1:30 am
- Destination: SPI Springfield IL
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 120° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 1:54 am from PDC, 16 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.