Cessna 172S incident near Ruston, Louisiana, February 7, 2001
On February 7, 2001 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N980SP, suffered minor damage in an incident near Ruston, Louisiana. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the loss of engine power while manuevering as a result of an incorrect mixture control adjustment. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the ensuing forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 7, 2001 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Ruston, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · all 172Ss on the register
- Registration
- N980SP · registry record · serial 172S8182
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and the student pilot were practicing power-off stalls in the local practice area. In preparation for a power-off stall maneuver, the student pilot performed "the flow checklist (fuel valve on both, mixture rich), and had reduced power in order to slow [the] speed." Shortly after this procedure, the engine lost power. The engine failed to restart, and the flight instructor executed a forced landing to a field, and the airplane impacted a fence. During a post-incident engine run, the engine repeatedly lost total power after the throttle was reduced to idle. The engine manufacturer representative adjusted the mixture control wheel, located on the fuel injector unit, "eight turns toward the lean setting." The engine was restarted, and when the throttle was reduced to the idle position, the engine continued to run. Inspection of the operator's fleet revealed that the idle mixture controls of several other airplanes of the same make and model were also out of adjustment.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 264 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 63 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 173 as pilot in command; 35 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 25, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 25 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 341 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 20, 2000; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,558 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RSN Ruston LA at 9:00 pm
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,600 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.07 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from MLU, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW01IA062.