- Date
- June 29, 2002, 12:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Hite, UT
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N725ECCessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 6, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20020629014829A
- Case key
- 55115
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 improper in-flight planning resulting in fuel exhaustion. A factor relating to the accident was the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing attempt.
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 reported that he was about 30 miles away from the airport when the airplane's engine lost power. He said he tried to find a place to land. The pilot said, "I found a very small dirt road, so I turned base and then final for it. We had a big tailwind at this point and we overshot the road. I then turned to the right and set it down in the middle of the desert. The landing was soft until we ran out of room and hit a ditch. We almost stopped and the front tire dug in, and it lifted us straight up and then we rolled over slowly on to the top of the plane." In his statement to a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, the pilot said that he ran out of fuel. An examination of the airplane's fuel system showed no fuel in the tanks. No other pre-impact anomalies were found.
Factual narrative
On June 29, 2002, at 1230 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N725EC, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over on an open dessert area following a forced landing attempt, near Hite, Utah. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating without a flight plan under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot and two passengers on board the airplane reported no injuries. The cross country flight originated at Boulder, Colorado, at 0915, and was en route to Halls Crossing, Utah.
The pilot reported that he was about 30 miles away from the airport when the airplane's engine lost power. He said he tried to find a place to land. The pilot said, "I found a very small dirt road, so I turned base and then final for it. We had a big tailwind at this point and we overshot the road. I then turned to the right and set it down in the middle of the desert. The landing was soft until we ran out of room and hit a ditch. We almost stopped and the front tire dug in, and it lifted us straight up and then we rolled over slowly on to the top of the plane."
In his statement to a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, the pilot said that he ran out of fuel.
An examination of the airplane showed the airplane's nose gear broken aft and resting near a 2 foot deep ditch. The firewall showed buckling. The fiberglass cap of the vertical stabilizer was crushed downward. One of the two propeller blades was bent aft. Flight control continuity was confirmed. An examination of the airplane's engine and engine controls showed no anomalies. An examination of the fuel system showed no fuel in the tanks. There was no smell of fuel prevalent at the site.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N725EC
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17260842
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- David L. Metzger
- Registered owner
- Christopher G. Hedge
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 1V5 · Boulder, CO
- Destination
- U96 · Halls Crossing, UT
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
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Unknown
- Last flight review
- March 31, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 140 total · 135 in this make and model · 150 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- PGA, 52 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 29, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 339 KB 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.