- Date
- September 2, 1998, 10:50 local (15:50 UTC)
- Place
- Detroit Lakes, MN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6703ECessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 16, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980902022229A
- Case key
- 43840
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
An inadequate preflight inspection by the pilot which resulted in fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power.
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
As the airplane neared its destination the pilot did a pre- landing checklist. When he placed the mixture to full 'RICH' the engine began to run rough. He said the application of carburetor heat did not eliminate the roughness. The pilot said he positioned the fuel selector to the 'RIGHT' fuel tank and the engine began to run normally for a short time and then quit. The on-scene examination revealed no usable fuel in the airplane's fuel tanks. The pilot said he had told another pilot to fill the fuel tanks to the filler neck the day before the accident flight. During his preflight inspection of the airplane, the pilot said he did not visually check the fuel level, but relied on the fuel tank guages to confirm that the tanks were 'FULL.'
Factual narrative
On September 2, 1998, at 1050 central daylight time (cdt), a Cessna 172N, N6703E, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a total loss of power during cruise flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 Civil Air Patrol aerial observation flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot and passenger reported no injuries. The flight departed Hutchinson, Minnesota, at 0740 cdt.
According to the pilot's written statement, the pilot said he was preparing to land at an airport and was doing the landing checklist. He said the engine began running "...very rough..." when he pushed the mixture control in. The pilot said he immediately applied the carburetor heat "...but the engine continued to run rough." He said he switched the fuel tank selector to the wing's "RIGHT" fuel tank. "[The] engine smoothed out momentarily and quit." The pilot said he made a forced landing in an alfalfa field that had about a 15-degree downslope incline.
The pilot said the right wing had about "...1-quart of fuel in the right tank." He said he didn't look in the left tank but could hear "...fuel sloshing around..." in the tank when he rocked the wings.
Before departing on the accident flight, the pilot said another pilot had filled the fuel tanks. The accident pilot said he told the other pilot to fuel the accident airplanes fuel tanks to "...the filler neck and watched as he did." The airplane did not fly after it had been refueled until the accident flight. During the accident flight's preflight inspection the pilot said he did not visually check the fuel tanks. He made sure the fuel caps were on tight and noted that both fuel tank gauges showed "FULL."
The Federal Aviation Administration Principal Maintenance Inspector (PMI) said he did not observe fuel in N6703E's fuel tanks.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6703E
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Civil Air Patrol
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Departed
- HCE · Hutchinson, MN
- Flight plan
- Unknown
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
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 8,900 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DTL, 6 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.