CESSNA 172S

Full Narrative

On November 19, 2024, at 1851 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172, N951JA, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The flight instructor and private pilot sustained minor injuries. The flight was conducted as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91instructional flight.
According to the private pilot, the purpose of the flight was to prep for his instrument check-ride. He said he conducted a thorough preflight and engine run-up prior to departure and no anomalies were noted. Shortly after takeoff from Lovell Field Airport (CHA), Chattanooga, Tennessee, at an altitude of 1,700 ft mean sea level (msl), engine RPM dropped to 2,300 RPM. The private pilot said he contacted air traffic control (ATC), and advised they were in instrument meteorological conditions and needed to return to land. The private pilot said he declared an emergency because the engine continued to lose power, and he and the flight instructor worked with ATC to get the airplane vectored back to the airport. The private pilot said they finally got a visual for runway 33 but the airplane was too fast on touchdown, so they executed a go-around to avoid going off the end of the runway and into trees. As the airplane climbed above the trees, the engine lost total power. The private pilot said there only optional was an off field landing to a road. The airplane clipped trees and came to rest on the side of the road resulting in substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. There was no postimpact fire.
The airplane was recovered to a salvage facility for further examination of the engine.