- Date
- September 22, 1996, 12:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Germantown Hill, IL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N904SWCessna 172D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 23, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960922029249A
- Case key
- 10401
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 supply and his misjudging distance and altitude. The trees were a factor.
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 pilot said that he departed with 8 gallons of fuel on the airplane. After a flight of about 10 to 15 minutes the engine suffered a loss of power. The pilot's attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful and he made a forced landing. He slowed the airplane on final and was unable to reach the point of intended landing. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed only unusable remaining the tanks. No mechanical anomalies were found during the inspection.
Factual narrative
On September 22, 1996, at 1215 central daylight time, a Cessna 172D, N904SW, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing near Germantown Hill, Illinois. The commercial pilot stated that he knew that the right fuel tank was nearly empty and that the left fuel tank was reading about one-quarter full when the engine lost power. He reported minor injuries. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file. The local flight departed Peoria, Illinois, about 1200.
The pilot said that he initiated the flight with eight gallons of fuel on the airplane. He stated that he was making a local flight when the engine lost power. He stated that attempts to restart the engine proved negative. He then initiated a forced landing. According to the pilot, as the airplane turned final he slowed the airplane and was unable to reach the field he had picked out for landing. The airplane then landed in tree tops short of the intended point of landing.
A post accident investigation of the accident airplane found only unusable fuel aboard the airplane. There was no indication of a fuel leak from either tank prior to the impact. The engine rotated with compression and continuity throughout.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N904SW
- Reported as
- Cessna 172D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17250163
- Airframe hours
- 2,720
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert A. Wernsman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 27, 1995 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- 3MY · Peoria, IL
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
- 34
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,145 total · 495 in this make and model · 1,030 as pilot in command · 43 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 17 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KPI, 10 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.