The private pilot and one passenger departed on the approximate 35-minute personal flight with an unknown quantity of fuel onboard the Cessna 172.
Later that evening, they departed to return to their home airport in night visual meteorological conditions without adding additional fuel during their stop.
While on final approach to their home airport in Gilmer, Texas, the engine lost total power and the plane hit trees and terrain. The pilot died in the crash.
The passenger stated that the engine did not sound any different during the accident flight than on any of the previous flights and that there was no indication of a problem with the airplane when the engine lost power.
Post-accident examination of the wreckage revealed no usable fuel within the airplane’s fuel system, and no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Therefore, it is likely that the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power as a result of fuel exhaustion.
While it is unknown what preflight fuel planning the pilot performed and the extent of his preflight inspection, it is apparent that both were inadequate. Had he performed both properly, he likely would not have run out of fuel.
Recorded GPS data showed that the pilot flew the traffic pattern 400-600′ lower than the recommended 1,000′ above airport elevation and turned to the base leg of the traffic pattern farther from the runway than recommended.
Had the pilot flown the traffic pattern at the recommended altitude and distance from the runway, it may have been possible for the airplane to glide to the runway following the loss of engine power.
Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate preflight planning and inspection, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to maintain an appropriate traffic pattern altitude and distance from the runway, which may have allowed the airplane to glide to the runway following the loss of engine power.
NTSB Identification: CEN16FA083
This January 2016 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
This was this pilot’s last ‘stupid pilot trick’….What about the reg. on landing with 30 min of fuel for day VFR flights, and 45 min. of fuel for night VFR flights….this dumb guy was about 2 cups of fuel short of making the runway.
The only performance improvement with minimum fuel is in rate of climb. there is no improvement in cruise speed for a C172..!
I’m sorry for his passenger/wife; who he made fuel the aircraft from 5 gal cans.
Hey Jim, easy , the guys dead. Isn’t that enough without you ridiculing him. We all know what he did was wrong, no other explanation is required. Paul, what can I say except. What you said is not necessary at all.We all know you two are aces of the sky’s and never ever made a mistake.
Well said Bartr, well said.
“departed with an unknown quantity of fuel onboard” and “performs better when it’s light”
Sounds like the passenger survived. But the pilot paid the ultimate price for his irresponsible attitude.
She did but with serious injuries. I took several hours as I recall before someone found her hanging the wreckage so there is no doubt some pyschological trauma as well. Can’t disagree with you on this one.
I knew this pilot casually as he lived and flew in the same area of East Texas as me. He was a nice guy but he had a what I always candidly felt was a bad habit of never fueling his 172 to full tanks. He claimed he did it because it “performs better when it’s light”, which is undoubtedly true, but I’ve also known him to shop fuel prices in the local area to save a nickel a gallon. That’s what was going on this day, the fuel at his home field in Gilmer was just a bit cheaper than the fuel at his departure airport and he’d gotten so accustomed to watched the gauges bouncing off the E that he didn’t see the problem with it. He didn’t have much night flying experience either and there are several high towers within a few miles of the Gilmer airport so why was he so low? Some people just don’t have a good sense of their own mortality I guess.
More to the point: Some people are just plain STUPID and should never be allowed to operate and airplane under any circumstances, period! They are not only a hazard to themselves but to the public in general.
Yeah, of course you and I have never done anything stupid in an airplane, right? So we can throw rocks at the one who did and died.
We learn from the mistakes or lapses in judgement. Ridicule is seldom warranted… unless there are drugs involved or the pilot persists in doing the same thing repeatedly expecting a different outcome.