Cessna 172K N46400

Summary

On 5 May 2011 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 172K registered N46400, operated by Texas Aerial Inspections LLC, was involved in an accident near Farmersville, Texas, 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

5 May 2011 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Farmersville, Texas, United States

Coordinates

33.2178, -96.3350

Aircraft

Cessna 172K

Registration

N46400

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Texas Aerial Inspections LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cleburne → Roanoke

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11CA322

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's improper fuel management.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Approximately 2 hours after departure on an aerial pipeline patrol flight, the pilot turned on the fuel transfer pump, which transfers fuel from the auxiliary baggage fuel tank to the airplane’s right wing fuel tank. The pilot reported that this was his routine and that it would take about two hours to transfer the fuel from the auxiliary tank to the wing fuel tank. The pilot added that, almost 4 hours after departure, the engine sputtered; he rocked the wings and noticed that the fuel transfer pump appeared to be off. He then started the fuel transfer again. The fuel transfer light came on; however, the airplane was too low to wait for the fuel to move to the wing fuel tank and then to the engine. So the pilot elected to perform a forced landing to a field. The airplane collided with several tree branches before impacting the ground and flipping over. During the forced landing the airplane sustained substantial damage to its right wing, aft fuselage, and top of the vertical stabilizer. The pilot also stated that sometime after he started the initial transfer of fuel the transfer pump apparently turned off and he did not notice.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.