# NTSB CEN26LA069: Cessna 172D, N2536U, Post, TX, December 19, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: December 19, 2025, 15:44 local (21:44 UTC) - Place: Post, TX · Approximately 100 yards short of runway 17. - Coordinates: 33.19995, -101.34379 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.2000&lon=-101.3438&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 19, 2026 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 202218 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN26LA069 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/202218/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=202218 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN26LA069 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to see the blockage in the fuel tank vent tube during the preflight inspection which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the deterioration of the right fuel cap vent to the point where it was inoperative. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Misc hardware: hoses and tubes](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071410): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Not inspected (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172D, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071410/cases.md?model=2072410), [All aircraft, 40 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071410/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172D, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=2072410), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was delivering a recently purchased airplane for a friend and decided to land for fuel. While in the landing pattern the engine lost all power. The pilot immediately turned toward the runway, switched the fuel selector valve from both to the left tank position, then to the right tank, and back to both while he attempted to restart the engine, without success. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a field. During the landing the airplane struck and came to rest in Mesquite trees about 100 yards north of the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing outer leading edge, the left leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer, the firewall, and the fuselage lower skin. After the accident, the pilot checked the fuel level. When he removed the first fuel cap, he noticed the sound of air rushing into the fuel tank. Further examination by the FAA revealed dry, hard dirt consistent with a Mud Dauber nest blocking the fuel tank vent tube. They also found the right fuel cap vent was deteriorated and inoperative and the left fuel cap was not a vented cap. The FAA stated about 6 gallons total fuel remained in both right and left fuel tanks. The airplane did not have a current annual inspection. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2536U](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2536U), registered now, S/N 17250136, built 1963 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172D - Registry model: [Cessna 172D](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172d) (registry code 2072410) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17250136 - Year built: 1963 - Airframe hours: 3015 - Engines: Continental O-300-D 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, November 9, 2024 - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: 5F1, Post-Garza County Municipal Airport, runway 17, 2,400 × 60 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Stall warning system, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 69; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review September 19, 2024; seat: left; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 13,000 total, 172 in this make and model, 12,000 as pilot in command, 60 in the last 90 days, 25 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 210° at 20 knots, gusting 24 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 21 °F - Altimeter: 29.90 inHg - Turbulence: Light - Observed at: KSNK, 36 nm away - METAR: METAR KSNK 192155Z AUTO 21020G24KT 10SM CLR 22/M06 A2990 RMK AO2 T02221065 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Incident 20251219018799I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20251219018799I), Dec 19, 2025: Cessna 172D, Post, TX, Substantial damage. On December 19, 2025, at 1545 CDT, a Cessna 172D aircraft bearing registration number N2536U, registered to a private owner, impacted terrain after engine… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 19, 2026, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=202218. 2.9 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 571 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19859240&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120%20Redacted_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record a�� telephone interview, FAA inspector (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 70 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19972274&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=FAA%20Statement-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 3, PDF, 6 pages, 2.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20023837&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN26LA069%20Photo%20Array%20A-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.