Cessna 172M N80657

Summary

On 9 October 2004 at about 14:30 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N80657 was involved in an accident near Eliot, Maine, United States. 2 people were 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

9 October 2004 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Eliot, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Pease International Tradeport (PSM)

Coordinates

43.1725, -70.7989

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N80657

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bar Harbor → Rochester

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC05CA003

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning decision, which resulted a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was inbound for landing when the engine began to alternately lose and gain power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a corn field, and the airplane's nose gear, and both wings were damaged. Examination of the airplane revealed no visible fuel in both of the airplane's fuel tanks. When the fuel line from carburetor was removed, it yielded, "a few drops of fuel." In addition, there was no evidence of a fuel spill in the area surrounding the accident site. The airplane's fuel system contained 38 gallons of useable fuel, and the airplane had been operated for 4.4 hours since it was last refueled.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.