- Date
- February 26, 1988, 17:05 local (22:05 UTC)
- Place
- North Hanover, NJ
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N738MXCessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880226003829A
- Case key
- 36106
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 eng lost power while the acft was circling at aprx 1500 ft AGL & the occupants were engaged in aerial photography. Subsequently, the acft was damaged during an emergency landing in a swampy area. An exam of the acft revealed the left tank was empty. The right tank had an undetermined amount of fuel which appeared to be more than usable fuel; however, the aircraft was resting on the ground, right wing low. The pilot operating handbook contained a note about flying with the selector on both. It stated 'unequal fuel flow from each tank may occur if the wings are not maintained exactly level. Resulting wing heaviness can be alleviated gradually by turning the selector valve handle to the tank in the 'heavy' wing.' The acft had been 'topped' with fuel prior to the flt & had flown 3.5 hrs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N738MX
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17270094
- Airframe hours
- 2,550
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mistral Aviation, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Mistrial Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 29, 1988 · 42 hours before
- Departed
- LDJ · Linden, 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 3,650 total
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.