Cessna R172K N98DE

Summary

On 24 February 1997 at about 04:58 local time, a Cessna R172K registered N98DE was involved in an accident near Brownsville, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 February 1997 at 04:58

Classification

Accident

Location

Brownsville, Texas, United States

Coordinates

25.9599, -97.5499

Aircraft

Cessna R172K

Registration

N98DE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Arlington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Bright

NTSB number

FTW97LA108

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported to the police that he had attempted three approaches into Brownsville airport, and during the fourth attempt the engine lost power. The airplane landed on a road. During the landing roll the airplane struck some trees. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety Report when the trooper arrived on the scene the pilot told him that he was 'enroute from Arlington and had encountered some unexpected head winds.' The pilot stated to the officer that he had 'merely ran out of fuel.' The trooper attempted to extract a fuel sample from the fuel tanks of the airplane; however, the 'wing tanks contained no fuel.' A 'bottle containing an estimated fifty pill[s] of 10mg Valium' was found in the airplane. Several attempts to obtain a completed Pilot/Operator Report were unsuccessful. The pilot also did not return numerous phone calls from the Investigator-in-Charge.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.