Cessna 172N N6257F

Summary

On 10 March 2004 at about 14:57 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N6257F was involved in an accident near Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. 2 people were on board and one 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

10 March 2004 at 14:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Mc Ghee Tyson (TYS)

Coordinates

35.8856, -83.9575

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N6257F

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Panama City → Knoxville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL04LA082

1 person had minor injuries.

The CFI's inadequate in-flight planning/decision and his inadequate supervision which resulted in fuel exhaustion. A factor was the inadequate preflight planning/preparation to ensure an adequate fuel supply, and the berm.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the certified flight instructor, approximately 3 miles from the destination airport the engine began to "sputter", and then quit. The certified flight instructor offered to take control of the airplane to make the forced landing but the private pilot said he felt comfortable making the forced landing. The certified flight instructor allow the private pilot to make the forced landing in a open field. During the forced landing the airplane collided with a berm. The pilot's did not report any flight control anomalies prior to the accident. Examination of the airplane revealed the propeller was bent aft, the nose wheel broke off at the strut, and the fuselage was buckled. Examination of the fuel system revealed a small trace of fuel was found in the left and right fuel tanks, and no blockage was noted in the fuel lines. Review of the Cessna pilots operating handbook revealed in Section 7: the total usable fuel in standard configuration is 40 gallons with 3 gallons unusable. In long range configuration 50 gallons usable, and 4 gallons unusable.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.