- Date
- July 31, 1989, 15:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Ft Smith, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N757HYCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890731029589A
- Case key
- 34841
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 pilot which resulted in fuel exhaustion due to an inadequate supply of fuel. A contributing factor was the road sign.
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 said that during the flight, the engine lost power about 10 miles short of his destination. He made an emergency landing on a highway, but during the roll-out, the aircraft struck a road sign and was damaged. The pilot had stopped en route and purchased 5.1 gallons of fuel. A post-accident investigation revealed the fuel tanks were empty.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N757HY
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15279764
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Smith, John
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Departed
- HOT · Hot Springs, AR
- Destination
- FSM · Fort Smith, AR
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 361 total · 288 in this make and model · 343 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FSM, 15 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.