Cessna 172F N5419R

Summary

On 17 October 2011 at about 23:45 local time, a Cessna 172F registered N5419R, operated by N5419R LLC, was involved in an accident near Atlanta, Georgia, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

17 October 2011 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK)

Coordinates

33.8719, -84.3011

Aircraft

Cessna 172F

Registration

N5419R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

N5419R LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hilton Head → Atlanta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12CA036

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in a total 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

According to the pilot, prior to departure, he calculated that he had 3.5 hours of usable fuel for the 2-hour-15-minute flight. He also indicated that the airplane’s average fuel consumption was 8 gallons per hour. He performed a preflight inspection and noted that the fuel gauges indicated about three-quarters full, which he believed to be about 20 to 30 gallons of fuel. During climbout, the oil door on the engine cowling opened, and the pilot returned to the departure airport to close it. After landing, the pilot taxied to the ramp to secure the door and then departed again. The cross-country flight was uneventful, but, when the airplane was on a gradual descent about 6 miles from the destination airport, the engine lost total power. The pilot attempted to continue to the destination airport, but the airplane descended into trees and impacted the ground in a residential area, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks were not breached; recovery personnel removed a total of 1.5 gallons of fuel from the airplane. An examination of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot believed that the airplane had a fuel capacity of 42 gallons. According to the owner's manual, the airplane had a fuel capacity of 39 gallons, of which 36 gallons were usable.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.