- Date
- September 1, 2023, 13:50 local (18:50 UTC)
- Place
- Plover, WI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N172SPCessna R172K
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20230901014889A
- Case key
- 192994
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 pilot’s inadequate fuel management which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that while en route to his planned fuel stop destination, the engine experienced a slight hesitation. The pilot then changed course to the nearest airport and turned on the auxiliary fuel pump. The engine roughness stopped for about 15 seconds, then occurred again, and the engine subsequently lost total power. Unable to maintain altitude and reach the nearest airport, the pilot conducted a forced landing to a roadway. During the forced landing, the airplane’s left wing tip struck a roadway sign, and the right float impacted a moving vehicle that was on the roadway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing rear spar. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the left fuel tank contained no usable fuel, and the right tank contained about 14 gallons of fuel. The fuel selector was found in the left fuel tank position. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N172SP
- Reported as
- Cessna R172K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- R172-2842
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 2,662
- Engine
- Continental IO-360-KB-3, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 21, 2023
- Departed
- SGS · St. Paul, MN
- Destination
- PCZ · Waupaca, WI
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B
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
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 7, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,226 total · 1,397 in this make and model · 1,903 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 5, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.