Cessna 172D N2482U

Summary

On 20 September 1998 at about 23:10 local time, a Cessna 172D registered N2482U was involved in an accident near Louisville, Kentucky, United States. One person was 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

20 September 1998 at 23:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Bowman Field (LOU)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172D

Registration

N2482U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC98LA195

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to perform a preflight inspection of the airplane before his first solo flight, and inadequate supervision by the certified flight instructor, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot preflighted the airplane and visually noted that the fuel tanks were about 1/4 to 3/8 full. He then departed with a certified flight instructor (CFI) for a 45 minute instructional flight. After the flight, the CFI authorized the SP to perform his first solo flight and they both exited the airplane to complete some paper work. The SP then went back to the airplane and departed while the instructor observed. The SP did not perform a preflight check of the airplane before the solo flight. During the initial climb, after the SP's first touch and go landing, the airplane's engine sputtered and lost power. The airplane touched back down onto the runway and ran off the end of the and impacted a fence. Examination of the wreckage revealed the fuel tank caps were in place and the fuel tanks were 'empty.' The airplane had flown for 5.1 hours since being topped off. According to the airplane's operating manual, the airplane's total fuel capacity was 42 gallons, of which 41 were usable. The CFI stated, the average fuel consumption for the airplane was 8 gallons per hour.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.