Cessna 172N N9892J

Summary

On 13 February 2004 at about 06:00 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N9892J was involved in an accident near Parowan, Utah, 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

13 February 2004 at 06:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Parowan, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Parowan Airport (1L9)

Coordinates

37.9095, -112.8509

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N9892J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Albuquerque → Cedar City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

DEN04LA045

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's in-flight decision/planning which resulted in fuel exhaustion. The fence and night conditions were contributing factors.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he topped-off the airplane with fuel, and departed to the west on a long cross-country flight. After flying for several hours, he saw the "glow of [city] lights" and thought it was his destination. He attempted to contact the airport by radio, but did not receive a response. He stated that, at that time, he was unable to pick up the VOR. At that point he realized that he must have drifted north and off of his intended heading. He said he adjusted his heading to the southwest, and climbed to a higher altitude. Shortly thereafter, he located his destination, and through radio contact, turned on the runway lights. As he flew over the airport, the airplane's engine began to lose power and then it "cut out." He circled around the airport as he descended and set up for a forced landing on runway 22. On the final approach, he realized that he wasn't going to make the runway. He said that he "increased the [airplane's] angle of attack," but the airplane fell short of the runway. The airplane's right wing struck a fence post and the airplane impacted the terrain approximately 50 yards short of the runway threshold. The airplane's right wing spar was bent outboard of the wing strut, and the nose landing gear was separated from the gear fork. An on-site examination of the airplane revealed that both wing fuel tanks were empty.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.