- Date
- October 14, 1995, 01:50 local (05:50 UTC)
- Place
- Eastman, GA
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N33LUCessna 152
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report February 27, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951014036089A
- Case key
- 37929
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 perform fuel consumption calculations, and the decision not to refuel. Contributing to the accident was fuel exhaustion, and the pilot- in-command's decision to operate the airplane with the fuel gauges inoperative.
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-in-command (CFI) decided to continue the flight without making a planned refueling stop, which resulted in fuel exhaustion, and a subsequent emergency descent. During the forced landing the airplane collided with power lines, pitched nose down, and collided with the ground.
Factual narrative
On October 14, 1995, about 0150 eastern daylight time, N33LU, a Cessna 152 operated by Phoenix East Aviation, crashed near Eastman, Georgia, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed and both pilots reported minor injuries. The flight departed Macon, Georgia, about 30 minutes before the accident.
The pilots stated they flew from Daytona Beach, Florida, to Macon, and had intended to refuel, but the operator was closed for the night. They then departed intending to get fuel in Alma, Georgia. The engine lost power, and during the forced landing the airplane struck wires and the ground. No fuel was found in the fuel tanks after the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N33LU
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15279585
- Airframe hours
- 5,301
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Phoenix East Aviation
- Registered owner
- Twin Engine Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 16, 1995 · 83 hours before
- Departed
- MCN · Macon, GA
- Destination
- ALM · Alma, GA
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
- 25
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,110 total · 250 in this make and model · 650 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MCN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.