Cessna 172 N64859

Summary

On 8 December 2025 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N64859 was involved in an accident near DeLand, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

8 December 2025 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

DeLand, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

DeLand Municipal Airport (DED)

Coordinates

29.0670, -81.2838

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N64859

Category

Airplane

Year built

1982

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Edgewater → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA26LA063

1 person was seriously injured.

The flight instructor’s inadequate fuel quantity inspection, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a cross-country instructional flight, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power, and the flight instructor performed a forced landing to a road about 2 miles from the destination airport. During the landing, the airplane struck trees and came to rest upright, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A recovery crew responded the same day and noted that both wing fuel tanks were intact but absent of fuel. An FAA inspector subsequently examined the wreckage at the recovery facility and found no fuel in the filter at the belly sump, which was the lowest point in the fuel system. The flight instructor later reported that fuel exhaustion was the likely cause of the accident. He stated that before departure, he relied on avionics, which indicated 21 gallons of fuel onboard rather than visually verifying the fuel quantity in the wing fuel tanks, and the avionics indication was likely inaccurate.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.