- Date
- November 21, 2007, 00:01 local (05:01 UTC)
- Place
- Hamilton, NJ
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N172MGCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20071121829599A
- Case key
- 67147
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's inadequate fuel consumption calculations which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
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 of the Cessna 172N stated the airplane was in cruise flight when the engine sputtered, and stopped producing power. The pilot then performed a forced landing to trees, resulting in substantial damage, but neither he nor the two passengers were injured. The pilot said he immediately egressed the airplane, checked both fuel tanks, and found both were empty. Examination of the fuel tanks by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed they were intact, and no evidence of fuel, fuel spillage, or fuel odor was identified at the scene. The pilot stated that he departed his home airport with full tanks earlier in the day and recorded 3.2 hours on the hobbs meter. Several stops were made during the day, which involved six takeoffs and climbs to altitude. In a written statement, the pilot added, "Physically checking the fuel tanks for fuel, instead of relying on [the] hobbs meter and an assumed gallons per hour fuel consumption rate, could have prevented this accident."
Factual narrative
The pilot of the Cessna 172N stated the airplane was in cruise flight when the engine sputtered, and stopped producing power. The pilot then performed a forced landing to trees, resulting in substantial damage, but neither he nor the two passengers were injured. The pilot said he immediately egressed the airplane, checked both fuel tanks, and found both were empty. Examination of the fuel tanks by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed they were intact, and no evidence of fuel, fuel spillage, or fuel odor was identified at the scene. The pilot stated he departed his home airport with full tanks earlier in the day and recorded 3.2 hours on the hobbs meter. Several stops were made during the day, which involved six takeoffs and climbs to altitude. In a written statement, the pilot added, "Physically checking the fuel tanks for fuel, instead of relying on [the] hobbs meter and an assumed gallons per hour fuel consumption rate, could have prevented this accident."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N172MG
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268088
- Engine
- Avco Lycoming O-360, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- ENS Aire, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 26N · Ocean City, NJ
- Destination
- 17N · Cross Keys, NJ
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
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 88 total · 10 in this make and model · 11 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.