# NTSB LAX02LA237: Cessna 172P, N5268K, Creston, CA, July 26, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 25, 2002, 20:30 local (Jul 26, 2002, 03:30 UTC) - Place: Creston, CA - Coordinates: 35.666667, -120.616668 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.6667&lon=-120.6167&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 29, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 55315 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX02LA237 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/55315/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=55315 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02LA237 ## Probable cause the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and loss of engine power. A factor in the accident was the dark night conditions. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - in-flight planning/decision - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - light condition - dark night (contributing factor) - fuel supply - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - On ground/water collision with object, emergency landing - object - sign ## Analysis The airplane made a forced landing on a road and collided with a sign, following a total loss of engine power. Prior to takeoff, the pilot visually checked the fuel level by looking inside the tanks. He estimated that he had about 5 1/2 hours of fuel on board the airplane. He planned his cross-country to be about a 3-hour trip, in dark night conditions. While en route, about 12 miles from his planned destination, the engine lost power. He attempted to restart the engine by following the procedures on the emergency checklist, but the engine would not start. He performed a forced landing on a road and the airplane's right wing collided with a sign. The pilot thought that the accident was a result of fuel exhaustion. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative On July 25, 2002, about 2030 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N5268K, lost engine power and made a forced landing on a road near Creston, California. During the landing rollout, the airplane collided with a highway sign. A private individual owned and operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal cross-country flight departed Montgomery Field Airport (MYF), San Diego, California, about 1850, with a planned destination of Paso Robles Municipal Airport (PRB), Paso Robles, California. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. During a telephone interview with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC), the pilot stated that the airplane had recently come out of a 100-hour inspection. Prior to takeoff, he visually checked the fuel level by looking inside the tanks. He estimated that he had about 5 1/2 hours of fuel on board the airplane. He planned his cross-country to be about a 3-hour trip. About an hour before the engine quit he recalled the fuel gauges in the cockpit showing 1/2 tank of fuel on the right side, and a little under 1/2 tank of fuel on the left side. While en route, it was a dark night and he could not make out the terrain below. He approached the vicinity of Paso Robles and the engine quit. He attempted to restart the engine by following the procedures on the emergency checklist, but the engine would not start. The pilot saw two headlights below, off to the right of his course. He maneuvered the airplane in that direction, while avoiding several power lines. He positioned the airplane over a two-lane road, ahead of the headlights. While touching down on the road, he noticed that several hundred feet ahead of him, the road had a 90-degree turn to the right with a corresponding 25-mile-an-hour road sign and yellow arrow signs. If he continued forward off the road, he would collide with a fence. He opted to take the turn and applied heavy brake pressure. The airplane's right wing collided with an arrow sign. The airplane came to rest about 12 miles southeast of PRB. The pilot thought that the accident was a result of fuel exhaustion. He did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5268K](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5268K), registered now, S/N 17274038, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172P - Registry model: [Cessna 172P](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (registry code 2072436) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17274038 - Airframe hours: 9668.8 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A4M 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Last inspection: Annual, July 25, 2002, 6 hours before - Departed: MYF, San Diego, CA - Destination: PRB, Paso Robles, CA - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: PRB, Paso Robles ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 36; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review October 1, 2003; seat: left; flight hours: 217 total, 217 in this make and model, 138 as pilot in command, 20 in the last 90 days, 16 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/dark - Wind: 300° at 9 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.01 inHg - Observed at: PRB, 12 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 20020725017359A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020725017359A), Jul 25, 2002: Cessna 172P, Creston, CA, Substantial damage. (.19) On July 25, 2002, at 2130 pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N5268K, lost engine power and forced landed on a road near Creston, California. The… ## Other investigations on N5268K (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 WPR25LA086](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA086), Feb 2, 2025: Cessna 172P (N5268K), Ramona, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: An in-flight collision with a bird in the airport traffic pattern. ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 3, 2004, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=55315. 384 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 339 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40463835&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Record of Conversation Pilot (item 2, .PDF, 45 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40207863&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20Pilot-Master.PDF 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.