Cessna 172 N92036

Summary

On 15 May 2020 at about 21:30 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N92036 was involved in an accident near Colchester, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 May 2020 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Colchester, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

40.4511, -90.7908

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N92036

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Colusa → Macomb

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20CA181

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight of the fuel quantity which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation during cruise flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that he checked the fuel tanks prior to takeoff. It was dark in the hangar where he used a wire to check the fuel level in the fuel tanks. He was not wearing his glasses and he thought he had "an inch or so" of fuel. The pilot thought that was enough fuel and departed on a cross country flight. During the flight, the engine "sputtered" and lost power. The pilot turned the airplane towards the destination airport but lost airspeed, so he lowered the airplane's nose and conducted a forced landing into the trees below. A postaccident examination revealed that the airplane sustained substantial empennage, fuselage, and wing damage. The fuel tanks were empty and there was no fuel odor anywhere at the accident scene. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane during the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.