Cessna 172 N6494E

Summary

On 6 June 2008 at about 02:05 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N6494E, operated by Barry Sanford, was involved in an accident near Santa Rosa, California, United States. One person was on board and 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

6 June 2008 at 02:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Rosa, California, United States

Nearest airport

Sonoma County Airport (KSTS)

Coordinates

38.5053, -122.8078

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N6494E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Barry Sanford

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Van Nuys → Fortuna

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

LAX08CA164

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's improper in-flight decision making and inadequate fuel consumption calculations that resulted in fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot took off with 38 gallons of fuel on board, and planned a 3-hour flight to his refueling stop. After departure he followed the wrong highway northeast. He realized his mistake, adjusted his course to intercept the correct highway, and continued on to his destination. He flew at 4,500 feet mean sea level (msl) and 110 miles per hour (mph) ground speed according to his global positioning system (GPS). Winds aloft at 4,950 feet msl were from 320 degrees at 21 knots, providing a strong headwind. After 4.4 hours of flight, the airplane ran out of fuel near his refueling stop, and the pilot made a forced landing into a vineyard near the airport.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.