Cessna 172N N5233D

Summary

On 17 August 1998 at about 19:05 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N5233D was involved in an accident near Chandler, Arizona, United States. 3 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 1998 at 19:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Chandler, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

33.3207, -111.8193

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N5233D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

North Las Vegas → Tucson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX98LA269

Nobody was injured.

Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate preflight planning and in-flight monitoring of the aircraft's fuel consumption.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot told the tower that she was running out of fuel. She reported that the aircraft shook and started losing altitude, then seemed to start back up before quitting completely. The pilot landed in the desert terrain and the nose gear and left main landing gear were ripped off. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. An FAA inspector examined the airplane and reported that the fuel lines and both fuel tanks were intact and there was no fuel visible in either tank. He further stated that he conducted an engine run after adding approximately 1 gallon of fuel and making no other adjustments. The engine started on the first try and ran smoothly for several minutes with no abnormal sounds or indications noted. On the flight from Tucson to Las Vegas, 40.7 gallons of fuel were added to the aircraft tanks following landing at North Las Vegas. The fuel system holds 43 total gallons, of which 40.7 are usable.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.