Cessna 172E N3553S

Summary

On 22 July 1997 at about 19:45 local time, a Cessna 172E registered N3553S, operated by Andrew H Liebfried, was involved in an accident near Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 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

22 July 1997 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Fitchburg Muni (FIT)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172E

Registration

N3553S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Andrew H Liebfried

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Sterling

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC97LA150

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot performed a preflight inspection and observed the fuel tanks were half empty. After an uneventful local flight, the pilot departed for another flight. During the initial climb after takeoff, about 75 feet, the engine lost power. The pilot performed a forced landing, and the airplane came to rest left wing low. Examination of the wreckage revealed 7 gallons of uncontaminated automotive gasoline in the left fuel tank, and no fuel in the right tank. The fuel selector valve was found in the 'both' position, and the left fuel cap was found open. The pilot could not recall if he secured it properly during his preflight inspection. Additionally, the engine was test run satisfactorily using fuel that was drained from the airplane. The airplane's total fuel capacity was 39 gallons, of which 36 was usable. It was last refueled 8 months prior to the accident with 28.2 gallons of automotive gasoline. The airplane had been flown for 3/10 of an hour on a ferry flight for an annual inspection, 4 days prior to the accident, and had accumulated 1.38 hours since the annual inspection. According to the owner's manual, fuel consumption in cruise flight at 75% power at 2,500 feet was 8.5 gallons per hour.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.