Cessna 172H N3732R

Summary

On 8 July 2014 at about 02:01 local time, a Cessna 172H registered N3732R was involved in an accident near Baytown, Texas, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2014 at 02:01

Classification

Accident

Location

Baytown, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Baytown (HPY)

Coordinates

29.7756, -94.9406

Aircraft

Cessna 172H

Registration

N3732R

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Baytown → Baytown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN14LA347

3 people were seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to verify the fuel onboard before the flight, 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

The pilot and two passengers completed a 45-minute local sightseeing flight at night, then returned to the airport for a touch-and-go landing. About 400 ft above ground level after takeoff, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot maneuvered the airplane for a forced landing in a flat, clear area of a city park. As the airplane descended, the right wing impacted a set of electrical transmission wires. The pilot lost control and the airplane impacted terrain, where it came to rest inverted. An on-scene examination of the wreckage showed no evidence of fuel. Examination of the airplane and engine revealed no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have prevented normal operation. The pilot reported that he had last fueled the airplane more than 6 months before the accident; he estimated that a total of 32 gallons of fuel was onboard at that time. He also estimated that the airplane had been flown about 2 hours 20 minutes since refueling, and that there should have been about 45 minutes of fuel remaining at the time of the accident. Data from the airplane's hand-held GPS showed that within the previous 6 months, the device had recorded flights totaling about 4 hours. Thus, the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's failure to verify the available fuel before the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.