# NTSB IAD04CA014: Cessna 152, N4713B, Hamilton, OH, April 7, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: April 7, 2004, 19:00 local (23:00 UTC) - Place: Hamilton, OH - Coordinates: 39.4225, -84.52333 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.4225&lon=-84.5233&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report September 1, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 59019 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD04CA014 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59019/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD04CA014 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power. The student pilot becoming lost/disoriented is a contributing factor. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - became lost/disoriented, pilot in command (contributing factor) - in-flight planning/decision - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - starvation/exhaustion - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - Nose over, emergency landing - terrain condition - dirt bank/rising embankment (contributing factor) ## Analysis While on the return leg of her first solo cross-country trip, the student pilot became lost. After about 2.5 hours aloft, the airplane's fuel supply was exhausted, and the student pilot made a forced landing to a field. After touchdown, the airplane rolled about 200 feet before the nose wheel struck a mound of dirt, and the airplane nosed over. A post-accident inspection of the engine revealed no mechanical anomalies. The forced landing site was about 155 miles northeast of the student pilot's intended destination. ## Factual narrative On April 7, 2004, about 1900 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N4713B, was substantially damaged after a forced landing near Hamilton, Ohio. The certificated student pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan had been filed for the flight, intended between Huntingburg Airport (HNB), Huntingburg, Indiana, and Clark County Airport (JVY), Jefferson, Indiana. The solo instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the student pilot, she departed Clark County with full fuel for a solo cross-country flight to Huntingburg. She landed uneventfully at her destination, and departed for the return trip to Clark County about 1640. Thirty minutes into the flight, the student pilot realized that she was off course, but was not sure in which direction. She attempted to contact several airports for assistance and to ascertain her position using various navigational aids, but to no avail. After about 2.5 hours aloft, the engine began to sputter, and the student pilot realized that the airplane was out of fuel. She then made an emergency soft field landing in a field. After touchdown, the airplane rolled about 200 feet before the nose wheel struck a mound of dirt, and the airplane nosed over. In a telephone interview, the student pilot stated that during the flight to Huntingburg, she had drifted off course to the south, and while at Clark County, she was advised by another pilot to alter her return heading an additional 30 degrees to the north to correct for the winds aloft. The forced landing site was approximately 155 nautical miles northeast of the intended destination. The distance between the two cross-country airports was 58 nautical miles. According to the student pilot's flight instructor, the accident flight was the student pilot's first solo cross country flight. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, a post-accident inspection of the airplane did not find any evidence of fuel in the tanks or on the ground. He also stated that he did not note any engine damage, and that when the engine was tested, it operated normally. The weather reported at Butler County Regional Airport (HAO) Hamilton, Ohio, 4 nautical miles to the south, at 1853, included calm winds, 10 statute miles visibility, a few clouds at 8,500 feet, temperature 72 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure of 29.73 inches of mercury. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4713B](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4713B), registered now, S/N 15283593, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 152 - Registry model: [Cessna 152](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (registry code 2071835) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15283593 - Airframe hours: 7246.7 - Engines: Lycoming O235 L2C 110 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: HAPS Aerial Enterprises Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, March 26, 2004, 15.6 hours before - Departed: HNB, Huntingburg, IN - Destination: JVY, Jeffersonville, IN - Airport: HAO, Butler County Regional Airport ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 17; injuries: minor; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 40 total, 18 in this make and model, 2 as pilot in command, 4 in the last 90 days, 1 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 41 °F - Altimeter: 29.72 inHg - Observed at: HAO, 4 nm away ## 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 20040407006129A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040407006129A), Apr 7, 2004: Cessna 152, Hamilton, OH, Substantial damage. (-23) The student pilot was on her first solo cross country flight. The flight was from clark county airport (jvy) in Indiana to huntingburg airport (hnb),… ## Other investigations on N4713B (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 ATL89LA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL89LA018), Oct 26, 1988: Cessna 152 (N4713B), Reidsville, NC, substantial damage 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.