- Date
- December 14, 1995, 02:55 local (07:55 UTC)
- Place
- Macon, GA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N48959Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report April 29, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951214040509A
- Case key
- 37958
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 pilot-in-command's failure to assure an adequate amount of fuel was available for 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 and safety pilot were on the return leg of a cross-country flight; no flight plan had been filed. During approach to the destination airport the engine lost power, and the airplane collided with terrain in a clay pit 1/4 mile from the runway. A postaccident investigation revealed that there was less than 1/2 gallon of fuel left in the tanks, and there was no fuel found in the carburetor.
Factual narrative
On December 13, 1995, about 0255 eastern standard time, N48959, a Cessna 152 operated by Southeast School of Aeronautics as a 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, crashed in Macon, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot received minor injuries. The safety pilot received serious injuries. The flight originated from Augusta, Georgia, around 2300 the previous night.
The airplane ELT was first heard about 0255 and search crews found the wreckage about 0700. The airplane was located about 1/4 mile from the Herbert Smart Downtown Airport.
A postaccident investigation by FAA inspectors revealed that there was less than 1/2 gallon of fuel in the fuel tanks. There was no evidence of fuel spillage and there was no fuel found in the carburetor.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N48959
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15283394
- Airframe hours
- 10,975
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Se School Of Aeronautics
- Registered owner
- Gulf Coast Leasing
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- AGS · Augusta, GA
- Destination
- MAC
- Airport
- MAC · Herbert Smart Downtown, runway 10, 4,695 × 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
- 24
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 300 total · 212 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 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.