Cessna 172I N35436

Summary

On 11 July 1997 at about 16:49 local time, a Cessna 172I registered N35436 was involved in an accident near Naches, Washington, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 July 1997 at 16:49

Classification

Accident

Location

Naches, Washington, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172I

Registration

N35436

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Yakima → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA97LA166

3 people had minor injuries.

inadequate preflight by the pilot, and subsequent fuel exhaustion, which led to a forced landing and subsequent nose over of the aircraft. Related factors were: the FBO did not refuel the aircraft as requested, and soft terrain was encountered during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during a preflight on 7/11/97, she checked the aircraft's fuel quantity using a dip stick, but was interrupted and had to begin again. She reported the left tank was '1 inch down,' and right tank was 'full.' The aircraft was operated on the ground for 10 to 15 minutes at 1,000 RPM before taking off from the Yakima Airport, which was logged at 0832. At 0949, Yakima Tower received a radio transmission from the aircraft indicating a power loss. Subsequently, the pilot executed a forced landing onto soft terrain. During the landing, the nose gear collapsed, and the aircraft nosed over. An FAA onsite examination revealed no evidence of fuel in the left tank and about one cup in the right tank. No evidence of fuel spillage was noted at the site, and no evidence of any fuel leakage from the fuel system was found. The pilot stated that on the evening before the flight, she contacted the fixed base operator (FBO) to have the aircraft serviced with fuel. FAA examination of FBO documentation revealed no record of the aircraft having been refueled since June 14th. The aircraft had been flown approximately 2.5 hours on the day before the accident. The aircraft's total usable fuel capacity was 38 gallons. Estimated fuel consumption of the aircraft was 6.0 to 9.7 gallons/hour.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.