Plane Crash List

Cessna 172G N2982U

18 September 2002 · Vail, Arizona, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 18 September 2002 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 172G registered N2982U was involved in an accident near Vail, Arizona, 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.

The record

Date
at 23:00
Classification
Accident
Location
Vail, Arizona, United States
Coordinates
32.0444, -110.7864
Aircraft
Cessna 172G
Registration
N2982U
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
El Paso → Casa Grande
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
LAX02LA290

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 0 1

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate fuel consumption calculations, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a planned nonstop cross-country flight from Texas to Arizona, the pilot exhausted all fuel and made a hard forced landing in a clearing. The pilot reported that en route strong headwinds were encountered, and he was aware that his fuel status was low but thought he had sufficient fuel to fly home despite the headwinds. The pilot acknowledged that he should have diverted to available airports but evidently misjudged the headwind and his available fuel. When all engine power was lost he aimed for a clearing near a drag strip. During the descent he observed power lines, dissipated airspeed to avoid them, and stalled thus impacting the ground hard. No mechanical problems were reported with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Cessna 172 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
12 Jun 2002 Cessna 172F
N7873U
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States - No injuries -
20 Sep 2002 Cessna 172P
N612CB
Lutz, Florida, United States Troy Mason Heidel No injuries -
21 Sep 2002 Cessna 172RG
N6303V
Del Mar, California, United States - No injuries -
16 Mar 2002 Cessna 172Q
N66076
Fruitland, Utah, United States Wings of Denver Serious injuries -
13 Jun 2002 Cessna 172K
N84840
Clarkston, Washington, United States Huck, Barry P. No injuries -
14 Aug 2002 Cessna 172G
N56BC
Sangerville, Maine, United States - Minor injuries -

All 12,209 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
10 Jul 2002 Beechcraft 95-B55
N812D
Mesa, Arizona, United States Charles A. Moran No injuries -
13 Jul 2002 Steen SE-1
N2018S
Tucson, Arizona, United States - Fatal 1
8 Nov 2002 Cessna 208B
N514DB
Parks, Arizona, United States - Fatal 4
13 Jul 2002 McConnell LANCAIR 320
N320DM
Sedona, Arizona, United States - No injuries -
15 Mar 2002 Pilatus UV-20A
23253
Marana, Arizona, United States - Fatal 1
16 Mar 2002 Avian MAGNUM IX
N2037U
Sedona, Arizona, United States - Serious injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States