# Accident 20111017024289A: Cessna 172F, Atlanta, GA, October 17, 2011

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 17, 2011, 19:45 local time
- Place: Atlanta, GA
- Airport: Dekalb-Peachtree
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.8719° N, 84.3011° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8719&lon=-84.3011&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5419R, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5419R-2017-10-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172F (registry code 2072414, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-300 series (registry code 17022, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172F
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 250 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA12CA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12CA036) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20111017024289A

## Narrative

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

ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011, AIRCRAFT, N5419R, A CESSNA 172F, DEPARTED KCRE (N. MYRTLE BEACH) FOR KHXD (HILTON HEAD, SC) FOR A SHORT LAYOVER, THEN PROCEEDED TO KPDK (ATLANTA, GA) AROUND 1700.  PILOT IS ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WITH ONE PASSENGER, HIS SON ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ TOPPED OFF FUEL AT KCRE AND DID NOT ADD FUEL WHILE IN KHXD.  DURING INITIAL DEPARTURE FROM KHXD TO KPDK, AFTER TAKEOFF, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ NOTICED THE OIL ACCESS PANEL ON THE RIGHT ENGINE COWL WAS NOT SECURED.  ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT (KHXD) TO SECURE PANEL.  AFTER LANDING AND TAXING TO RAMP AREA, HE SET THE BRAKES, THEN DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT WITH THE ENGINE STILL RUNNING AND SECURED THE OIL ACCESS PANEL.  THIS DELAYED FINAL DEPARTURE FOR KPDK BY AN ESTIMATED 15-20 MINUTES. ON DESCENT INTO KPDK AT AN ESTIMATED 5-7 MILES OUT, AT APPROXIMATELY 2500 FEET, THE ENGINE LOST POWER ABRUPTLY AND AIRCRAFT CRASHED 1.76 NAUTICAL MILES SHORT OF KPDK.  PILOT AND PASSENGER HAD MINOR INJURIES. AT THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT, THERE WAS NO POST CRASH FIRE AND NO SIGN OF FUEL CONTAMINATION ON GROUND.  IT HAD BOTH WINGS OUTBOARD OF THE WING STRUTS AND FUEL TANKS TORN/SHEARED OFF BY COLLISION WITH TWO TREES PRIOR TO IMPACT. BOTH FUEL CELLS WERE INTACT.  I INSPECTED BOTH FUEL TANKS, FINDING RIGHT TANK EMPTY AND LEFT TANK HAVING SOME FUEL, ESTIMATED 2 GALLONS. AT ATLANTA RECOVERY IN GRIFFIN, GA, ON OCTOBER 20, 2011, LEFT TANK FUEL MEASURED 1.25 GALLONS. IT WAS DETERMINED BY ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ DURING HIS INTERVIEW WITH THE INSURANCE ADJUSTER, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, THAT HE MISCALCULATED HIS FUEL ONBOARD BY A MINUS 9 GALLONS. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ SUGGESTS THAT HE MAY HAVE USED TANK QUANTITIES FROM ONE OF SEVERAL AIRCRAFT THAT HE FLIES ON A REGULAR BASIS AT THE FLIGHT SCHOOL HE ATTENDS.

## 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 ERA12CA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12CA036), Oct 17, 2011: Cessna 172F (N5419R), Atlanta, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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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