CESSNA 120 near Taylor, AZ — 2025-08-24

Probable cause

NTSB has not published a probable cause for this accident yet. Preliminary reports describe what happened; the cause is determined later, often 12–24 months after the event.

NTSB narrative

On August 24, 2025, about 0711 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 120, N3151N, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Taylor, Arizona. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot dipped the fuel tanks before the flight and observed that the left tank was empty and the right tank contained about 10.5 gallons of fuel, a quantity that had previously provided about 1.5 hours of flight time with a 30 to 60 minute reserve. The right tank was selected for the entire flight. After 1 hour and 25 minutes, while on approach to land, the engine lost all power. The pilot performed a forced landing, during which the airplane sustained substantial damage to the aft fuselage. After the accident, the pilot dipped the right fuel tank and found that about 1 inch of fuel remained.

Preliminary NTSB coding

• Off-field or emergency landing · Enroute

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