Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 172 near Perryville, MD — 2009-05-20

Final reportERA09CA297
Sign in to save
Date
2009-05-20
Location
Perryville, MD, USA
Airport
OW3
Aircraft
CESSNA 172
Registration
N3063U
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot’s inadequate preflight planning.

NTSB narrative

The pilot and owner of the airplane departed on a round-trip cross-country flight with one stop. Before departure the owner topped off the fuel tanks and the pilot elected to trust the owner on the accuracy of the fuel amount. No fuel was added and the fuel level was not verified while at the enroute stop. Ten miles from the departure airport, on the return leg, the engine stopped running. The pilot attempted to restart the engine and switched fuel tanks, but the engine would not restart. The pilot elected to land in an empty field; during the landing, the airplane overran the field boundary, went through a ditch, and impacted a tree as it crossed a road before coming to a stop. In the process, the airplane’s nose gear broke off and damaged the leading edge of the right wing. The pilot and owner exited the airplane without assistance. The airplane had been flown for a total of 3 hours and 40 minutes in the round-trip flight before the engine stopped running due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

Related mishaps