- Date
- November 26, 1983, 01:40 local (07:40 UTC)
- Place
- Jackson, MS
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N64791Cessna 172P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19831126058899A
- Case key
- 6391
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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.
Analysis
The acft ditched in a reservoir at night after a power loss. The plt was descending to land, in preparation for the landing the plt switched fuel tanks on the selector valve to what he thought was both tanks position. Shortly after thisthe engine quit. The plt checked the fuel selector but did not change it. He changed the magneto from both to right and back to both. When the engine failed to restart he was forced to ditch short of the arpt. The occupants exited and swam to shore safely. When the acft was salvaged the fuel selector was found in the off position. No fuel was in the gascolator or carburetor. The plt stated that this fuel selector was different from other acft he had flown and in the darkness he selected an improper position. The 'off' position is directly opposite the 'both' position. There is no guard or protective device to prevent moving the selector to off inadvertently.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N64791
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Airframe hours
- 1,120
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wing - It, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- MKL · Jackson, TN
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- JAN · Thompson Field, runway 15L, 8,500 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 27
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 85 total · 28 in this make and model · 65 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Observed at
- JAN, 5 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.