What happened
On January 26, 2017, a Cessna 172R, registration N2382R, was involved in an accident during a local personal flight at Clearwater Air Park (CLW) in Clearwater, Florida. The flight, operated by Clearwater Helicopters, Inc. (dba Tampa Bay Aviation), began approximately 30 minutes prior to the event. The pilot performed a preflight inspection and elected to refuel the aircraft. During the preflight, the pilot noted the passenger door was difficult to close and encountered an issue with a lap belt, though the belt was eventually secured.
After takeoff, the pilot flew west toward the beach but decided to return to the airport due to nearby adverse weather. While entering the traffic pattern for runway 1, the pilot did not activate the visual approach slope indicator. During the first landing attempt, the aircraft encountered a strong wind gust that caused it to climb approximately 10 feet. The pilot executed a go-around and re-entered the traffic pattern.
On the second landing attempt, the pilot used 10 degrees of flaps while maintaining 65 mph. The pilot reported a soft touchdown on the runway numbers and noted no propeller strike occurred during the landing. The aircraft was then taxied to the tie-down area and secured. The pilot and one passenger were not injured.
The investigation
Following the flight, the pilot reported discrepancies regarding the fuel gauge and the lap belt. Although the pilot reported a soft touchdown, the operator's review of airport surveillance video showed that maintenance personnel discovered damage to the propeller later that day. During a manual rotation of the propeller, maintenance staff heard internal engine damage and observed damage to the firewall. The aircraft had not been moved or operated since the pilot returned it to the tie-down area, and the oil pressure-activated hour meter remained unchanged. Post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed that the propeller and firewall damage likely occurred during the landing phase.