- Date
- May 31, 2025, 15:33 local (20:33 UTC)
- Place
- Columbus, MS
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N177LSCessna 177B
- Defining event
- Approach: Fuel exhaustion
- 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-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250531005789A
- Case key
- 200252
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 preflight inspection and improper in-flight decision-making, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and a subsequent landing on rough terrain.
Findings · 5
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 about 4 hours after departure while on approach to the destination airport, the engine lost total power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a field which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks contained no usable fuel. After the accident, the pilot stated that he did not top off the fuel tanks at his departure airport but only “stuck” the tanks to verify the fuel level.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N177LS
- Reported as
- Cessna 177B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17702620
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 4,031.7
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1F6D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 12, 2024
- Departed
- KORL · Orlando, FL
- Destination
- KUBS · Columbus, MS
- Airport
- UBS · Columbus-Lowndes County, runway 36, 4,503 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, 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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- May 27, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 617.9 total · 456.7 in this make and model · 590.3 as pilot in command · 28.8 in the last 90 days · 8.3 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.91 inHg
- Observed at
- KGTR, 13 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KGTR 312056Z 26004KT 10SM SCT050 27/16 A2991 RMK AO2 SLP130 T02670156 56017
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 18, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.