- Date
- April 12, 2007, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Stockton, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9685QCessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 27, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20070412020599A
- Case key
- 65571
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 loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion resulting from the pilot's inaccurate fuel consumption calculations and failure to refuel while en route.
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
After a loss of engine power, the airplane landed short of the runway, collapsing the nose gear and buckling the engine firewall. The pilot departed with both fuel tanks full. His route of flight usually takes 3 hours to fly. He encountered turbulence and strong winds, which had the effect of increasing the flight time to 4 hours. As he lined up for a straight-in approach to the runway, the engine stopped due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot executed a forced landing short of the approach end of runway and collided with the ground and a fence. The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical malfunctions. An FAA inspector examined the airplane at the accident scene and confirmed that there was no fuel onboard.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated in the Pilot/Operator Accident Report that he departed El Monte, California, with both fuel tanks full of 100LL. His route of flight, El Monte to Stockton, California, usually takes 3 hours to fly. He encountered turbulence and strong winds, which had the effect of increasing the flight time to 4 hours. As he lined up for a straight-in approach to the Stockton Metropolitan Airport, the engine stopped due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot executed a forced landing short of the approach end of runway 29, which collapsed the nose gear and buckled the engine firewall. The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical malfunctions.
An FAA inspector examined the airplane at the accident scene and confirmed that there was no fuel onboard.
The airplane had been modified with the installation of a higher horsepower Lycoming O-360-A1A engine in place of the original O-320.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9685Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17265769
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Aacit
- Registered owner
- AFS, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KEMT · El Monte, CA
- Destination
- KSCK · Stockton, CA
- Airport
- KSCK · Stockton Metro, runway 29R, 10,650 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 70
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 235 total · 235 in this make and model · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 18 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- KSCK, 1 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.