Cessna 172 N2845Q

Summary

On 29 October 2004 at about 02:15 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N2845Q was involved in an accident near Mobile, Alabama, United States. 4 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

29 October 2004 at 02:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Mobile, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

Mobile Regional Airport (MOB)

Coordinates

30.6264, -88.0678

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N2845Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gainesville → Baton Rouge

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ATL05CA016

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and his inadequate in-flight planning/decision which resulted in fuel exhaustion and subsequent collision with the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that the engine lost power approximately 10-20 miles north-northwest of Mobile Regional Airport, while flying at 8,500 feet. Attempts by the pilot to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The pilot radioed Mobile Control Tower and reported his loss of engine power. The tower controller cleared the flight to land on runway 14. The airplane collided with the ground 300 feet short of the runway 14. The examination of the airplane revealed that the engine compartment firewall and forward fuselage were buckled. The crankshaft was manually rotated through 360 degrees and engine drive-train continuity was established. The right magneto produced an ignition spark to each spark plug ignition lead when rotated. Examination of the fuel system revealed that both wing fuel tanks were intact, and less than one pint of 100 low lead fuel was recovered from the right wing fuel tank. No other fuel was recovered from the fuel system. No anomalies with the airframe or engine were observed. According to refueling records, the airplane was last topped off on October 27, 2004. There were no other refueling records from October 28, 2004. The airplane had flown one hour on October 28, 2004 before the accident flight, and was not refueled before the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.