Cessna 172RG accident near Moorpark, California, March 29, 1999
On March 29, 1999 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172RG, registered N9451D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Moorpark, California (Camarillo airport). 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure and separation of the number two cylinder for undetermined reasons. A factor was the soft terrain at the forced landing site.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 29, 1999 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Moorpark, California · Camarillo · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172RG · all 172RGs on the register
- Registration
- N9451D · no longer on the register · serial 1725RG1167
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The instructor and instrument student were in level flight at 4,000 feet msl at the initial approach fix for a practice VOR approach. After hearing a loud bang in the engine compartment, smoke and flames were observed entering the cockpit by the rudder pedals. The instructor immediately turned the fuel selector valve to off and nosed the airplane over to land. The fire went out and he set up to land in a plowed field. He secured the airplane, opened the doors, and then executed a soft-field landing with full flaps. When the nose wheel dropped into the soft dirt after touchdown, it dug in and the airplane nosed over. The number two cylinder assembly with its intake and exhaust tubes exited through the cowling and were not recovered. Pieces of piston, compression ring, a push rod, and a piston pin were found in the cowling. The connecting rod fractured at a midpoint along both sides of the wrist pin. Mechanical continuity was established for the remaining engine cylinders, no discoloration was evident, and all fracture surfaces were grainy and angular.
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; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 575 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 480 as pilot in command; 300 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,881 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 3, 1999; 88 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-F1A6 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MYF Montgomery CA at 8:00 pm
- Destination: CMA Camarillo CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 26, 6,010 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from CMA, 11 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.
Other NTSB records under N9451D the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.