Cessna 172K N1177M

Summary

On 1 August 2002 at about 18:20 local time, a Cessna 172K registered N1177M, operated by Patuxent River Naval Flying Club, was involved in an accident near Patuxent River, Maryland, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one 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

1 August 2002 at 18:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Patuxent River, Maryland, United States

Nearest airport

Patuxent River NAS (NHK)

Coordinates

38.3083, -76.4161

Aircraft

Cessna 172K

Registration

N1177M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Patuxent River Naval Flying Club

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Myrtle Beach → Patuxent River

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD02LA080

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadequate fuel calculations, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Prior to his departure, the pilot performed a preflight inspection and determined the fuel onboard the airplane by observing the fuel gauges in the cockpit. The gauges indicated the fuel tanks were about 1/4 - 1/2 full, or 8 gallons of fuel per tank. The pilot stated he did not visually check the fuel tanks because he did not have a way to measure the fuel. The pilot added 20 additional gallons of fuel, for a total of 36 gallons of fuel onboard, which he estimated to be 4 1/2 hours flight time. After fueling the airplane, the fuel gauges read about 3/4 full on each tank. The pilot flew direct to his destination; however, he did not perform any fuel burn calculations en route. Approximately 3 miles from the airport, the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot checked the fuel gauges, which indicated 1/8 full on the left side and 1/4 full on the right side. He unsuccessfully attempted to restart the engine, and performed a forced landing approximately 1/2 mile short of the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed that the left wing tank was completely empty and 1/8 inch of fuel remained in the right wing tank. The airplane's fuel system was examined and no pre-impact anomalies were noted. A test run of the engine was performed on the airframe, and it started without hesitation and ran continuously through a variety of power settings. An accurate test of the fuel level transmitters and fuel gauges was unable to be performed during the initial examination, because they were removed and retained by the operator. The pilot had accumulated 124 hours of fixed-wing flight experience, 9 of which were in make and model, and 691 hours in rotorcraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.