- Date
- January 7, 1990, 14:35 local (20:35 UTC)
- Place
- Killen, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7401XCessna 172B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900107000189A
- Case key
- 8197
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
Inadequate pre-flight planning by the pilot in command which resulted in fuel exhaustion during cruise flight.
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 airplane had been flown from joliet, IL to pulaski, TN. After landing the PIC was told fuel was not available. She departed to fly to muscle shoals, AL, 37 mi sw of pulaski about 8 mi from muscle shoals the engine quit. Upon departure from joliet the fuel was full & endurance was expected to be 4+30 hours. The time of the accident WA reported as 1435. An FAA inspector examined the airplane & found no fuel in the gascolator of the inverted airplane. He reported that the PIC stated at the accident site that the fuel had been exhausted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7401X
- Reported as
- Cessna 172B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172-47901
- Engine
- Continental O-300D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harland & Delores Keppel
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 19, 1989 · 13 hours before
- Departed
- GZS · Pulaski, TN
- Destination
- MSL · Muscle Shoals, AL
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 550 total · 550 in this make and model · 475 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,800 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MSL, 9 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.