- Date
- September 13, 2025, 00:01 local (05:01 UTC)
- Place
- Lancaster, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7774ACessna 172F
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250913014449A
- Case key
- 200998
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 planning and failure to monitor the fuel consumption which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 4
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 intended to complete a 4-hour night flight while following a company multi-engine airplane. Before departure, the airplane was serviced with about 18 gallons of fuel; the main fuel tanks were full (36 gallons usable), and the auxiliary fuel tank was empty. The pilot thought that the airplane contained 53 gallons of usable fuel, even though the auxiliary tank was empty. During final approach to the destination airport the engine lost total power, and the pilot made a forced landing into the airport perimeter fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks remained intact and undamaged. A few ounces of fuel were found in the left main tank, and the right main and auxiliary tanks were empty.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7774A
- Reported as
- Cessna 172F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17252168
- Built
- 1964
- Airframe hours
- 6,538.21
- Engine
- Continental Motors O-300D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Saydun LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 2025 · 27 hours before
- Departed
- MXA · Manila, AR
- Destination
- LNC · Lancaster, TX
- Airport
- LNC · Lancaster Rgnl, runway 13/31, 6,500 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 30
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 7, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 360.2 total · 184.7 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KLNC
Docket · 8
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 4, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 33.3 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.