# Accident 19970825023709A: Cessna 152, Mecca, CA, August 25, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 25, 1997, 16:00 local time
- Place: Mecca, CA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.5494° N, 115.9693° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.5494&lon=-115.9693&mi=10
- Aircraft: N152RJ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N152RJ-1997-12-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 152 (registry code 2071835, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 152
- Reported engine: LYC O235L2C
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 38 total, 28 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX97LA305](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97LA305) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970825023709A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

STUDENT DEPARTED SOLO CROSS COUNTRY WITHOUT TOPPING TANKS. ENGINE QUIT NEAR MAX FUEL RANGE. SHORT OF FUEL STOP. (.4) THE STUDENT PILOT WAS ON A SOLO CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT FROM LONG BEACH TO BLYTHE, CALIFORNIA. HE WAS TO HAVE PERFORMED A TOUCH-AND-GO LANDING AT BERMUDA DUNES AND THEN PROCEED TO BLYTHE, WHERE HE WAS TO REFUEL AND RETURN TO LONG BEACH.  HE DECIDED TO STOP AT BERMUDA DUNES FOR AN ESTIMATED 30-MINUTE REST STOP.  HE REPORTED THAT ABOUT 10 TO 20 MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT TO BLYTHE, THE ENGINE QUIT.  HE SAID HE WAS ABLE TO GET A RESTART FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES BEFORE IT QUIT AGAIN. THE STUDENT STATED HE VISUALLY CHECKED THE FUEL PRIOR TO DEPARTURE FROM LONG BEACH AND IT WAS DOWN AN INCH IN EACH TANK.  THE STUDENT'S FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR STATED HE DID NOT VISUALLY CHECK OR SEE THE AIRCRAFT BEING REFUELED.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS RECOVERED, EXAMINED, AND THE ENGINE SUCCESSFULLY TEST RUN.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX97LA305](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97LA305), Aug 25, 1997: Cessna 152 (N152RJ), Mecca, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: fuel exhaustion as a result of the student pilot's inadequate preflight and failure to refuel.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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