Cessna 172M N61569

Summary

On 4 June 2002 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N61569 was involved in an accident near Mountain Ranch, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 June 2002 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Mountain Ranch, California, United States

Nearest airport

Placerville Airport (PVF)

Coordinates

38.2167, -120.5333

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N61569

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Porterville → Placerville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX02LA182

2 people were seriously injured.

the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation and his in-flight planning/decision resulting in fuel exhaustion and loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane lost engine power and collided with trees during a forced landing. The pilot planned the flight from Ramona, California, to the destination with an intermediate stop at Porterville. The total distance was 396 nm and the en route flight time was projected at 4 hours 6 minutes. The first leg to Porterville was uneventful and the pilot and passenger had lunch. No fuel was added to the tanks while at Porterville. The pilot said that during the second leg of the flight, about 1 hour 15 minutes after departure and while nearing the destination, the engine began to operate as though it was "starved for gasoline." The propeller continued to rotate; however, the engine failed to produce thrust. The pilot performed an emergency landing on a meadow and during the landing roll, the airplane impacted trees. Responding rescue personnel reported that there was no fire and no smell of fuel at the scene. An aircraft recovery service that retrieved the wreckage reported that no fuel was found in the aircraft at the accident site and that the vegetation surrounding the wreckage was not dead. An aircraft and engine examination, which included a detailed look at the fuel system components, revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction or failures. The aircraft was equipped with the standard range fuel tanks with a total useable capacity of 38 gallons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.