Incident Overview
On July 16, 2024, at 00:50 UTC, a Cessna 152 with registration LV-IQV was involved in a serious incident at the Aerodrome of Río Cuarto in Córdoba Province, Argentina. The aircraft, operated by Echo Victor for general aviation instruction, suffered from smoke in the cabin and a failure in its communication system during the climb phase following a touch-and-go maneuver.
Operational Context
The flight began on July 15, 2024, at 23:35 UTC. The aircraft was conducting a local night instructional flight with an instructor and a student pilot aboard. After approximately 75 minutes of flight under visual meteorological conditions, the crew detected smoke in the cabin while climbing to release the runway for a commercial aircraft departure.
Emergency Response
At an altitude of approximately 400 feet, the VHF radio fuse blew, causing the equipment to shut down. The instructor and student observed smoke and smelled burning material. The instructor assumed control, executed a 180-degree turn, reduced power, deployed full flaps, and landed with tailwind on runway 230. The aircraft stopped at the threshold of runway 05.
Investigation Findings
Emergency services from the Fire Rescue Service (SSEI), Aeropuertos Argentina, and the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) responded to the scene and confirmed there was no fire. The aircraft was removed from the runway to allow the commercial flight to depart and subsequently towed to the apron.
The instructor held a valid Flight Instructor license with 1,620 total flight hours, including 541 as an instructor. The last biennial check was completed on November 11, 2023. The aircraft was maintained according to the manufacturer's plan, with its last annual inspection performed on July 1, 2024. No injuries were reported among the crew or passengers, and no structural damage was recorded.