Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 152 near Miami, FL — 2015-09-05

Final reportERA15LA342
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Date
2015-09-05
Location
Miami, FL, USA
Airport
TMB
Aircraft
CESSNA 152
Registration
N6141Q
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's improper preflight fuel planning and in-flight fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that, before taking off to practice instrument approaches in the local traffic pattern, he checked the airplane's fuel status by looking at the cockpit quantity indicators and looking into the fuel tanks. After conducting three touch-and-go instrument landing system landings, the pilot was attempting a GPS landing. While established on radar vectors for an instrument approach and at 1,500 ft mean sea level, he observed engine "roughness," followed by a loss of power. He attempted a forced landing on a road; however, he subsequently chose to land in a muddy area within the boundary of a national park instead. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuel system was undamaged, and there was no evidence of fuel leakage at the scene. The fuel tanks were drained, and 0.45 gallon of fuel was recovered from the left tank, and no fuel was found in the right tank. The operator reported that, at the time of the accident, the airplane had been flown for about 4.6 hours since its last refueling. The airplane had a usable fuel capacity of 24.5 gallons, and its fuel consumption rate in cruise flight was about 6.1 gallons per hour; therefore, the usable fuel would have been consumed during the accident flight.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have checked fuel levels more thoroughly before the flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 7 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents7

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