Cessna 172F N8793U

Summary

On 8 July 2010 at about 05:42 local time, a Cessna 172F registered N8793U, operated by Low Flying Angels, Inc., was involved in an accident near Rancho Murieta, California, United States. One person was 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

8 July 2010 at 05:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Rancho Murieta, California, United States

Nearest airport

Rancho Murieta (KRIU)

Coordinates

38.4869, -121.1028

Aircraft

Cessna 172F

Registration

N8793U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Low Flying Angels, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hanford → Sacramento

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

WPR10CA311

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power in flight due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel planning.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that when he was about 7 miles from his intended destination the engine began to run rough and lost all power about one minute later. He unsuccessfully attempted to restart the engine multiple times. The pilot decided to try to land at a closer airport but realized he would not be able to make it to that airport, either, so he elected to land in an open field. During landing the airplane bounced and the right wing collided with a tree, which spun the airplane around. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. Local fire department first responders reported that when they arrived on scene there were no fuel leaks and there was no odor of fuel present on-scene. They attempted to drain fuel from the sump but no fuel came out. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane and reported that there was no fuel at the selector valve or in the wing tanks. The pilot stated that "... adding additional fuel in excess of [the] perceived minimum fuel level would likely have avoided [the] power loss...."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.