# NTSB ANC95LA118: Cessna 172B, N9192R, North Pole, AK, July 30, 1995 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 30, 1995, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: North Pole, AK - Coordinates: 64.770294, -147.330459 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.7703&lon=-147.3305&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 14, 1996 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 2697 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC95LA118 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/2697/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC95LA118 ## Probable cause IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT, WHICH RESULTED IN FUEL EXHAUSTION, WHEN THERE WAS AN INADEQUATE SUPPLY OF FUEL TO REACH THE DESTINATION. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - normal - planning/decision - improper, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - fuel supply - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - In flight collision with object, emergency landing - object - tree(s) ## Analysis THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS ON A LOCAL PLEASURE FLIGHT AND WAS AWARE THE AIRPLANE WAS LOW ON FUEL. HE SAID HE WAS WITHIN FIVE MILES OF HIS DESTINATION, AND HE PLANNED TO REFUEL THERE. HE SAID THE AIRPLANE LOST ENGINE POWER DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION, AND THE AIRPLANE STRUCK TREES DURING THE SUBSEQUENT OFF-AIRPORT LANDING. ALSO, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED, IF HE HAD REFUELED SOONER. ## Factual narrative On July 30, 1995, about 1200 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 172B airplane, N9192R, sustained substantial damage when it collided with trees during a forced landing approximately five miles south of North Pole, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot reported a minor injury; the three passengers aboard reported no injuries. The local, 14 CFR Part 91 pleasure flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight departed Bradley Skyranch, North Pole, Alaska, about 1100. During a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on July 31, the pilot reported the airplane lost all engine power while in cruise flight at 2,600' msl. He said he made an off- airport landing and collided with trees. The pilot reported he was concerned about the quantity of fuel remaining in the airplane, and was intending a landing at Bradley Skyranch, approximately five miles distant, to refuel. He said the airplane ran out of fuel prior to reaching Bradley Skyranch, and he made a forced landing. The pilot said he examined the airplane after the accident, and could find no evidence of preimpact fuel leakage anywhere on the airplane. He said the fuel tanks were dry, and he thinks he may have encountered headwinds that increased his flying time, and the airplane used more fuel than he had planned for. The pilot does not believe there was any preimpact mechanical anomaly with the airplane. In his written report to the NTSB, under the section: Recommendation (how this accident could have been prevented), the pilot wrote: "By adding more fuel and watching the weather closer." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9192R](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9192R-2015-05-19), registration cancelled 2015-05-19, S/N 172-48239, built 1960 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172B - Registry model: [Cessna 172B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172b) (registry code 2072406) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17248239 - Airframe hours: 2800 - Engines: CONTINENTAL O-300-B 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Curtis W. Haase - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Last inspection: Annual, June 16, 1995, 15 hours before - Departed: 95Z ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 41; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 1,036 total, 839 as pilot in command, 12 in the last 90 days, 10 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 80 statute miles - Temperature: 7 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19950730020289A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950730020289A), Jul 30, 1995: Cessna 172B, North Pole, AK, Substantial damage. Low on fuel due headwind. Lost power 5MI short of airport. Struck trees on forced landing. Fuel tanks were empty. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.