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Video: Pilot Lands Cessna 172 After Prop Falls Off

By Bethany Whitfield / Published: Feb 07, 2012
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A video capturing a Cessna 172 pilot landing the aircraft after the propeller fell off mid-flight made the rounds over the Internet during the weekend.

While details about the video are slim, it was reportedly shot in Mexico by the 172’s back-seat passengers and features a flight instructor and student pilot at the controls. During the first segment of the video, the propeller is still attached, but in the second cut, the two pilots search calmly for an emergency landing spot after it has fallen off in flight.

“There are some trees,” one of the pilots says in Spanish as the two search for a suitable area.

The men ultimately put the aircraft down safely on a road, a move that results in celebratory cheers from everyone aboard. Once on the ground, the video captures a view of the front of the aircraft, that sure enough features a missing prop and damaged cowling.

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bakerocb's picture

The copilot has his shoulder harness fastened, but the pilot does not?

elmog's picture

Improper maintenance, my guess. Mechanic probably didn't torque the prop bolts or safety wire it correctly. Good landing as they were able to walk away from it. Also, there was no panic on board which is a big help in a situation like this.

sanyul's picture

I used to study in that flying school. I agree it was improper maintenance. this happened in Aguascalientes State, my hometown. The home base of the Cessna 172 XB-KMU was MMAS airport. The instructor, which by the way, did part of my IFR training is a great pilot and IMHO they both did a great job putting that aircraft on the ground safely. The girls also stayed shut, which i believe helped a lot. They landed on a highway between Aguascalientes and Calvillo counties. As soon as they touched the ground, military, DGAC authorities (mexican FAA so to speak), and state police rushed to detain the occupants thinking this was drug trafficking related. After finishing all paperwork and incident report, they brought a mechanic one day later and installed a replacement propeller from the flying school, checked the airworthiness and the same pilot / instructor took of from the highway back to the school´s hangar.

I hope my Mexico comes up to international training and maintenance standards sometime. We still have a long way to go. Aviation in Mexico is over regulated in an effort to keep control of drug traffic, but this translates in a huge hassle for airplane owners, training schools and student pilots....oh well...we have to keep up with this for the love of flying.

Cheers and fly safe!

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