- Date
- March 12, 1999, 20:00 local (Mar 13, 1999, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Palmer, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4387BCessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report April 20, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19990312026129A
- Case key
- 45954
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, and his failure to refuel the airplane that resulted in fuel exhaustion.
Analysis
The certificated private pilot departed from the frozen surface of a small lake after previously conducting touch and go landings earlier in the day. The airplane climbed to about 100 feet above the ground when the engine suddenly quit. The pilot made a turn back toward the lake and landed along the edge of the lake. The airplane touched down in an area of snow, and the main landing gear was sheared off. The right wing hit a snow bank and was damaged. The pilot reported he returned to the airplane the day after the accident to begin disassembly for transportation. The pilot said he discovered the airplane fuel tanks were empty. He then recalled his last flight before the accident was about 2 months before the accident, and he did not refuel the airplane.
Factual narrative
On March 12, 1999, about 2000 Alaska standard time, a wheel equipped Cessna 170B airplane, N4387B, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing after takeoff from a frozen lake, about 5 miles north-northeast of Palmer, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane was registered to the pilot. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on March 13, 1999, at 0900, the pilot reported he landed on Wolverine Lake earlier in the day, following about 30 minutes of touch and go landings at the Palmer Municipal Airport. The pilot said he took off and climbed the airplane to about 100 feet when the engine suddenly quit. He made a turn toward the lake, and landed along the edge of the lake. The airplane touched down in an area of snow, and the main landing gear was sheared off. The right wing hit a snow bank and was damaged.
On March 16, 1999, the pilot telephoned the NTSB IIC, and reported he returned to the airplane on March 13, 1999, to begin disassembly for transportation. The pilot said he discovered the airplane fuel tanks were empty. He then recalled his last flight before the accident was about 2 months ago, and he did not refuel the airplane.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4387B
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 26731
- Airframe hours
- 3,297
- Engine
- Continental O-300-A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- David R. Laseter
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 12, 1998 · 27 hours before
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 287 total · 265 in this make and model · 216 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.