Cessna 172K N78402

Summary

On 29 November 2004 at about 11:11 local time, a Cessna 172K registered N78402 was involved in an accident near Smyrna, Tennessee, 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

29 November 2004 at 11:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Smyrna, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Smyrna Airport (MQY)

Coordinates

35.5539, -87.1789

Aircraft

Cessna 172K

Registration

N78402

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbia → Smyrna

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ATL05LA031

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning of fuel required for the flight, and his inadequate in-flight planning/decision which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot stated he visually checked the fuel tanks before departing on the VFR flight and fuel was present in the fuel tanks. He could not remember what time he departed. While turning from base to final at his destination airport the engine quit. He switched the fuel tanks and attempted a restart which was unsuccessful. The airplane cleared trees at the approach end of the runway and collided with the ground. The nose gear separated, the airplane continued forward, and collided with the airport fence. Examination of the crash site revealed the left and right fuel tanks were not ruptured. No fuel was present in either fuel tank. The airplane was recovered to an airport hangar and the left and right fuel sumps were drained. One fourth of a gallon of fuel was removed from the left fuel tank drain. No fuel was recovered from the right fuel tank drain. A support brace was placed under the airplane. The engine was started and the engine ran at idle power for 3 minutes before the engine lost power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.