Cessna 172M N101PD

Summary

On 8 May 1999 at about 14:15 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N101PD, operated by Marvin E. Scott, was involved in an accident near Lancaster, Texas, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 May 1999 at 14:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Lancaster, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Lancaster Airport (LNC)

Coordinates

32.6202, -96.7796

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N101PD

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Marvin E. Scott

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Terrell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW99LA133

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the subsequent 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 private pilot executed a forced landing after the engine lost power during takeoff climb. The airplane landed hard and nosed over. The pilot and both passengers stated that the pilot 'checked the gas' prior to the flight. During takeoff climb, the engine began to 'spit and sputter' and then 'stopped.' A witness stated that 'the airplane accelerated downward (no forward airspeed or groundspeed) [and] struck [the] ground in [a] level attitude and bounced inverted.' The FAA inspector, who was at the airport at the time of the accident, stated that he could neither smell nor see any evidence of fuel at the accident site. The inspector visually examined the fuel tanks and found them to be dry. The most recent fuel purchase was made on March 23, 1999, when the pilot topped off the tanks with 18 gallons of fuel. According to the pilot's logbook, the engine had operated for about 75 minutes since this last refueling. The NTSB IIC and the FAA inspector test ran the engine for 14 minutes at various power settings. No anomalies were noted during the engine test run.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.