- Date
- February 11, 1994, 19:20 local (Feb 12, 1994, 00:20 UTC)
- Place
- Port St. Lucie, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N89254Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report November 18, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940211002099A
- Case key
- 37493
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 failure of the pilot-in-command to properly preflight the airplane and ensure there was adequate fuel on board, and his improper in-flight planning/decision to continue the flight.
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
The pilot was flying locally on a personal flight for several hours and ran out of gas. The pilot attempted a forced landing to a parking lot and contacted wires which caused the airplane to flip over.
Factual narrative
On February 11, 1994, about 1920 eastern standard time, N89254, a Cessna 152 registered to Gamco, and operated by Flight Training International, crashed in Port St. Lucie, Florida, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot received serious injuries. The local flight originated from Stuart, Florida about 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.
The pilot stated to law enforcement personnel after the accident that he was low on fuel and the engine failed. He attempted a forced landing to highway US-1 and struck wires on final approach. The airplane flipped and fell into a restaurant parking lot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N89254
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15282690
- Airframe hours
- 4,985
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Flight Training Intl.
- Registered owner
- Gamco Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 1, 1993 · 79 hours before
- Departed
- SUA · Stuart, FL
- Airport
- SUA · Stuart
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 270 total · 140 in this make and model · 190 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 180° at 17 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FPR
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.