# NTSB FTW97LA050: Cessna 172H, N2440L, Hammond, LA, November 27, 1996 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 27, 1996, 13:05 local (19:05 UTC) - Place: Hammond, LA - Coordinates: 30.530378, -90.460601 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.5304&lon=-90.4606&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 1, 1997 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 20117 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW97LA050 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/20117/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA050 ## Probable cause the pilot's inadequate preflight, resulting in the total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, approach - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - aircraft preflight - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - On ground/water collision with object, emergency landing - object - building(nonresidential) ## Analysis Approximately 5 miles west of the destination airport, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot landed the airplane in a field, and during the landing roll, the left wing struck a concrete pump house. The FAA inspector on the scene reported that he checked the fuel tanks and found 'no fuel in the right wing tank' and 'about a cup' of fuel in the left wing tank. The pilot 'thought the aircraft was full of fuel' when he began the flight. He told the FAA inspector that he had made 'a visual check of the fuel in the tanks' during his preflight. The operator of the airplane reported that the airplane had been 'topped off' the day before the accident and then flown .7 hours. The airplane was not refueled after the .7 hour flight. The accident flight lasted 4.1 hours. The operating handbook for the Cessna 172H shows that at a cruising altitude of 5,000 feet and an engine power setting of 2,500 RPM, a Cessna 172H will have an endurance of 4.8 hours. ## Factual narrative On November 27, 1996, at 1305 central standard time, a Cessna 172H, N2440L, registered to Texsan Aviation and operated by Howell's Aircraft Service, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Hammond, Louisiana. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. A flight plan was not filed for the cross country flight that originated in Grand Prairie, Texas, at approximately 0920. The pilot reported that he was inbound to the Hammond Municipal Airport. Approximately 5 miles west of the airport, at an altitude of 2,000 feet MSL, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot landed the airplane in a field, and during the landing roll, the left wing struck a concrete pump house substantially damaging the wing. The FAA inspector on the scene reported that he checked the fuel tanks and found "no fuel in the right wing tank" and "about a cup" of fuel in the left wing tank. The pilot told the FAA inspector that he "thought the aircraft was full of fuel" when he began the flight. He also told the inspector that he had made "a visual check of the fuel in the tanks" during his preflight. The operator of the airplane told the NTSB investigator that the airplane had been "topped off" the day before the accident and then flown .7 hours. The airplane was not refueled after the .7 hour flight. According to the operator's records, the accident flight lasted 4.1 hours. The operating handbook for the Cessna 172H shows that at a cruising altitude of 5,000 feet and an engine power setting of 2,500 RPM, a Cessna 172H will have an endurance of 4.8 hours. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2440L](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2440L), registered now, S/N 17255640, built 1966 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172H - Registry model: [Cessna 172H](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172h) (registry code 2072424) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17255640 - Airframe hours: 3484 - Engines: Continental O-300-D 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Howell'S Aircraft Service - Registered owner: Texsan Aviation, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, November 13, 1996, 20 hours before - Departed: GPM, GRAND PRAIRIE, TX - Destination: 0R9 ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 27; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 114 total, 82 in this make and model, 36 as pilot in command, 27 in the last 90 days, 19 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 360° at 5 knots - Visibility: 15 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 55 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19961127036799A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961127036799A), Nov 27, 1996: Cessna 172H, Hammond, LA, Substantial damage. Aircraft had engine problems, landed in a field and struck a building on roll out. (-23) the airplane was approaching the Hammond airport when it experienced a… ## Other investigations on N2440L (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB FTW00LA148](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW00LA148), May 13, 2000: Cessna 172H (N2440L), Mesquite, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the student pilot during the landing. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.