Incident Details
On June 6, 2012, maintenance personnel discovered substantial damage to the engine firewall of a Cessna 182R, registration N73466, during a pre-flight examination at Hilo International Airport in Hilo, Hawaii. The aircraft was under the operational control of Civil Air Patrol, Inc., and was being operated in accordance with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. No injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
The specific flight date and time that resulted in the damage could not be determined.
Investigation
A review of the operator’s flight log indicated that the aircraft had flown six flights totaling 13 hours since its most recent maintenance on May 29, 2012. Despite the damage, the operator reported that there were no recorded hard landings during that timeframe. The cause of the firewall damage was not established during the investigation.