Cessna 172G N4444L

Summary

On 22 March 2006 at about 18:57 local time, a Cessna 172G registered N4444L was involved in an accident near Collins, Missouri, 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

22 March 2006 at 18:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Collins, Missouri, United States

Coordinates

37.8811, -93.6611

Aircraft

Cessna 172G

Registration

N4444L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sioux Falls → Springfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI06LA095

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inaccurate fuel consumption calculations that resulted in fuel exhaustion, and the loss of engine power during cruise flight. An additional cause was the pilot's improper in-flight decision to continue when he believed his fuel gauges were erratic and unreliable.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot made a forced landing to a grass field following a loss of engine power during cruise flight. The airplane's tail section impacted a fencepost and barbed-wire during the forced landing. The pilot reported that the airplane had 34 gallons (31 gallons usable) of fuel prior to departure. The pilot visually confirmed that both fuel tanks were empty after the accident. The elapsed time between the first ATC communication, and when the pilot reported the loss of engine power was 3 hours, 57 minutes. According to the Cessna 172G owner's manual, the published fuel consumption rate at 7,500 feet msl and 70% brake horsepower (bhp) was 7.8 gallons/hour. The pilot reported that his preflight planning assumed a fuel consumption rate of 6.1 gallons/hour, at 7,000 feet msl and 2,300 engine rpm (52% bhp). The pilot told a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that the fuel quantity gauges had become "erratic" during the accident flight, and that he thought they were "unreliable."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.