Cessna 172I N35553

Summary

On 22 April 2014 at about 01:20 local time, a Cessna 172I registered N35553, operated by Redstone Arsenal Flying Activity, BLDG 4828, was involved in an accident near Huntsville, Alabama, United States. 2 people were 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

22 April 2014 at 01:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Huntsville, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

Huntsville International (HSV)

Coordinates

34.6400, -86.7800

Aircraft

Cessna 172I

Registration

N35553

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Engines

1

Operator

Redstone Arsenal Flying Activity, BLDG 4828

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Enterprise → Huntsville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA14CA206

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on the two-hour flight with the fuel quantity gauge of each fuel tank indicating about half full, but did not otherwise verify the quantity of fuel present in the tanks prior to the flight. Approximately 20 minutes from the destination airport, the left fuel tank gauge indicated between empty and one-quarter full, and the right tank gauge indicated one-quarter full.  On the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern, the engine began to "sputter" and experienced a total loss of power. The pilot moved the fuel selector to the right tank, but engine power was not restored. The pilot subsequently conducted a forced landing to the grass short of the runway, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the left fuel tank contained no fuel, and the right tank contained approximately one half of a pint of fuel. The tanks were not damaged during the accident sequence, and there was no evidence of fuel spillage at the scene. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.