Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 152 near Tea, SD — 2010-09-24

Final reportCEN10LA573
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Date
2010-09-24
Location
Tea, SD, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 152
Registration
N5364H
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

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

NTSB narrative

Approximately 200 feet above ground level after takeoff, the airplane's engine lost total power. The pilot elected to perform a forced landing in a corn field. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted corn stalks and muddy terrain and nosed over. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of fuel in the fuel tanks and the tanks were not compromised. Fuel was added to the fuel tanks and the engine was test run. The engine operated at various power settings with no anomalies found.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have checked fuel system integrity before takeoff.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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