Cessna 170B N4387B

Summary

On 13 March 1999 at about 00:00 local time, a Cessna 170B registered N4387B was involved in an accident near Palmer, Alaska, 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

13 March 1999 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Palmer, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

61.6210, -148.9794

Aircraft

Cessna 170B

Registration

N4387B

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

Dusk

NTSB number

ANC99LA032

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, and his failure to refuel the airplane that resulted in fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certificated private pilot departed from the frozen surface of a small lake after previously conducting touch and go landings earlier in the day. The airplane climbed to about 100 feet above the ground when the engine suddenly quit. The pilot made a turn back toward the lake and landed along the edge of the lake. The airplane touched down in an area of snow, and the main landing gear was sheared off. The right wing hit a snow bank and was damaged. The pilot reported he returned to the airplane the day after the accident to begin disassembly for transportation. The pilot said he discovered the airplane fuel tanks were empty. He then recalled his last flight before the accident was about 2 months before the accident, and he did not refuel the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.