Cessna 172K accident near Burns, Oregon, September 28, 2000
On September 28, 2000 at about 10:45 pm local time, a Cessna 172K, registered N84034, was substantially damaged in an accident near Burns, Oregon. 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 separation of a portion of one propeller blade as a result of a fatigue crack that initiated at the site of foreign object damage to the blade.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 28, 2000 · about 10:45 pm local time
- Place
- Burns, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172K · all 172Ks on the register
- Registration
- N84034 · no longer on the register · serial 17258307
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a climb in turbulent conditions, the most-outboard five inches of one propeller blade separated from the aircraft. Due to the violent vibration that followed, the pilot shut the engine off and made an emergency landing in an open field. An examination at the NTSB materials laboratory determined that the blade section had separated due to a fatigue crack that had propagated through two-thirds of the chord of the blade. The origin of the fatigue crack was determined to be an area on the leading edge where the blade had been damaged by impact with a foreign object.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 384 hours in all; 384 in this make and model; 43 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 316 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,000 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 20, 2000; 108 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BNO Burns OR at 10:30 pm
- Destination: UAO Aurora OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 11,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N84034 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.