Cessna 175 N7533M

Summary

On 17 August 1997 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna 175 registered N7533M was involved in an accident near Lynnwood, Washington, 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

17 August 1997 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lynnwood, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.7997, -122.2797

Aircraft

Cessna 175

Registration

N7533M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Everett

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA97LA192

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparation, which led to fuel exhaustion and subsequent 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 stated that he checked the fuel tanks prior to taking off from a private airstrip, and that he observed 6.5 gal. in one tank, and 8.5 gal. in the other tank. He also stated that he was concerned about the fuel quantity, so he decided to fly to an airport that had fuel facilities. During the initial climb after the takeoff, the engine began to run rough. The pilot ditched the airplane in a lake. He stated that the fuel tank pick-up ports may have unported during the 'steep' climb. During the initial pilot interview after the event was upgraded from an incident to an accident, the pilot stated that he had destroyed all evidence that would be required to determine if fuel exhaustion or engine malfunction had occurred, and he did not provide requested information about refueling receipts. Examination of the pilot's logbooks revealed that the pilot had logged 5.1 hours of flight time in the accident airplane during the 4 flights previous to the accident flight. The log did not contain any reference to refueling or of any destination airports that have refueling facilities. Calculations revealed that the airplane would have consumed more than its 43 gallons of useable fuel during the 4 previous flights.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.