Cessna 172K N78624

Summary

On 2 October 1998 at about 18:11 local time, a Cessna 172K registered N78624 was involved in an accident near Middlefield, Ohio, 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

2 October 1998 at 18:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Middlefield, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Geauga County Airport (7G8)

Coordinates

41.4492, -81.0691

Aircraft

Cessna 172K

Registration

N78624

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD99LA001

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After purchasing the airplane, the pilot took off without visually checking the fuel level in the tanks. After flying locally and landing at his home airport, the pilot elected to perform one more take off and landing. During the initial climb out, about 300 feet agl, the engine lost power. Past midfield and unable to land on the remaining runway, the pilot made a left 90 degree turn. Faced with an unsuitable landing area, the pilot turned right 45 degrees to land diagonally in a small field. The pilot was unable to stop the airplane prior to impacting a tree with the left wing. Upon examination of the airplane, no mechanical malfunctions were found with the airframe or the engine. A total of 1.5 gallons of fuel was drained from both tanks. The airplane's Pilot's Operating Handbook listed the unusable fuel as 3 gallons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.