- Date
- April 18, 1990, 17:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Columbia Falls, MT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3233LCessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900418010269A
- Case key
- 17918
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 failure to preflight and secure the fuel cap which resulted in the loss of fuel and the loss of engine power from fuel exhaution. Factor was soft terrain during forced landing.
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 student pilot was completing a cross country solo flight. He reported that while in cruise flight, the engine quit. He selected a field and made a forced landing. During landing roll, the nose gear sank into the soft terrain and the plane nosed over, coming to rest inverted. There was no evidence of a fuel spill and no fuel in the tanks. The owner reported that he discovered one fuel cap installed improperly, which he believes siphoned out fuel during the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3233L
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17256133
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Eagle Aviation, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Departed
- NONE · Rudyard, MT
- Destination
- S27 · Kalispell, MT
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- NONE
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 34
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 53 total · 53 in this make and model · 20 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.