- Date
- April 21, 2014, 20:20 local (Apr 22, 2014, 01:20 UTC)
- Place
- Huntsville, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N35553Cessna 172I
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report September 2, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- FAA report
- 20140421004609A
- Case key
- 89098
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 fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot departed on the two-hour flight with the fuel quantity gauge of each fuel tank indicating about half full, but did not otherwise verify the quantity of fuel present in the tanks prior to the flight. Approximately 20 minutes from the destination airport, the left fuel tank gauge indicated between empty and one-quarter full, and the right tank gauge indicated one-quarter full. On the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern, the engine began to "sputter" and experienced a total loss of power. The pilot moved the fuel selector to the right tank, but engine power was not restored. The pilot subsequently conducted a forced landing to the grass short of the runway, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the left fuel tank contained no fuel, and the right tank contained approximately one half of a pint of fuel. The tanks were not damaged during the accident sequence, and there was no evidence of fuel spillage at the scene. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot departed on the two-hour flight with the fuel quantity gauge of each fuel tank indicating about half full, but did not otherwise verify the quantity of fuel present in the tanks prior to the flight. Approximately 20 minutes from the destination airport, the left fuel tank gauge indicated between empty and one-quarter full, and the right tank gauge indicated one-quarter full. On the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern, the engine began to "sputter" and experienced a total loss of power. The pilot moved the fuel selector to the right tank, but engine power was not restored. The pilot subsequently conducted a forced landing to the grass short of the runway, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the left fuel tank contained no fuel, and the right tank contained approximately one half of a pint of fuel. The tanks were not damaged during the accident sequence, and there was no evidence of fuel spillage at the scene. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N35553
- Reported as
- Cessna 172I
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17256830
- Built
- 1968
- Airframe hours
- 10,314
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Redstone Arsenal Flying Activity, BLDG 4828
- Registered owner
- Redstone Arsenal Flying Activity, BLDG 4828
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 20, 2013
- Departed
- EDN · Enterprise, AL
- Destination
- HSV · Huntsville, AL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- HSV · Huntsville International, runway 18R, 12,600 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system
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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial, Military
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 5, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,500 total · 78 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- HSV
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 20, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.5 MB 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.