- Date
- July 28, 1989, 09:27 local (16:27 UTC)
- Place
- Marana, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N61552Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890728025739A
- Case key
- 26461
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
Inadequate preflight by the student pilot, inadequate supervision by the flight instructor (CFI), and fuel exhaustion due to lack of fuel. Related factors were: inoperative left fuel quantity gage, the cfi's decision to make the flight with a known deficiency in the fuel gage, and obstructions (tree like cactus) in the emergency landing area.
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
Before taking off on a flt for a biennial flt review, the pvt plt preflighted the acft & the instructor (CFI) took his word that about 20 gal of fuel was on board. The operator rprtd the CFI was aware that the left fuel gage was inop. No dip stick was used to measure the quantity of fuel before takeoff. After about 35 min of flt, the eng lost power as the student was making a go-around from a simulated forced lndg, but full power resumed when the nose was lowered. About 1 to 2 mins later, the eng lost power again, but would not restart. Subsequently, the acft was damaged when it hit a saguaro (tree like) cactus drg an emergency landing. No fuel was found in the tanks after the acdnt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N61552
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17264635
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Double Eagle Aviation, Inc.
- Registered owner
- George T. Gregory, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- TUS · Tucson, AZ
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
- 22
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,200 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.