- Date
- May 24, 2005, 13:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Conroe, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N67770Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Houston, Texas
- FAA report
- 20050524009059A
- Case key
- 61574
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 a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
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 125-hour pilot reported that he planned a cross-country flight from his home base to another airport located 126-nautical miles away. The first leg of this round robin flight was uneventful. Prior to his departure for the flight back to his home base, the pilot reported that he visually checked the fuel in the tanks and observed that the tanks were "half-full". The pilot stated he had calculated his flight time back to his home base as 88 minutes. When the airplane was "very close to his destination" the engine lost power and the pilot made a forced landing in a field. During the landing roll the left wing collided with a tree and spun around.
Factual narrative
On May 24, 2005, approximately 1315 central daylight time, a Cessna 152 single-engine airplane, N67770, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during cruise flight near Conroe, Texas. The private pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The airplane was registered to M & D Aviation and operated by Hi-Tech Aviation. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The round-robin cross-country flight originated from the David Campbell Field-Corsicana Municipal Airport (CRS), near Corsicana, Texas and was destined for the David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH) near Spring, Texas.
The125-hour pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) that he planned a cross-country flight from DWH to CRS, a one way distance of 126-nautical miles. Prior to his departure from CRS back to DWH, he visually checked the fuel in the tanks and observed that the tanks were "half-full". The pilot stated he had calculated his flight time back to DWH as 88 minutes. The pilot added that when he was "very close to DWH" when the engine lost power and he was forced to make a forced landing in a field. During the landing roll the left wing collided with a tree and the airplane spun around.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who responded to the accident site, the fuel tanks contained "maybe a liter" of fuel. The left wing and spar sustained structural damage.
At 1253, the automated weather observing system at DWH, approximately 10 miles south of the accident site, reported wind variable at 3 knots, 10 miles visibility, sky clear, temperature 88 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 29.83 inches of Mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N67770
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15282009
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235L2C, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hi-Tech Aviation
- Registered owner
- M & D Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- CRS · Corsicana, TX
- Destination
- Conroe, TX
- 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
- 37
- Certificates
- Student, Foreign, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1
- Flight hours
- 125 total · 100 in this make and model · 77 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.82 inHg
- Observed at
- DWH
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N67770 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.