Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hudson, Ohio 44236
Saturday, December 30, 1995 16:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that when he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane, the fuel tanks '...appeared to be full. They could have been no more than 2 inches down.' The pilot reported that as the airplane neared the destination airport after about 2 3/4 hours of flight, the engine power began to fluctuate. He stated that he checked the fuel quantity gauges and '...the right [fuel tank] was empty and the left was 3/4 full.' He attempted to regain power by pumping the primer and throttle. He reported that '...I went into about a 60 [degree] bank to the right to see if fuel would move between the tanks...motor caught and cut out a few times. When I leveled off the engine quit completely and the prop stopped turning.' During an emergency landing, the airplane touched down in a frozen/swampy area and nosed over. Postaccident investigation of the aircraft revealed no fuel in the fuel tanks, fuel strainer or carburetor. No preimpact mechanical malfunction was found. Postaccident examination of refueling records/airplane logs revealed that the airplane had flown about 4 3/4 hours since the most recent refueling.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a loss of engine power due to an inadequate supply of fuel. Factors relating to the accident were: false fuel quantity indication from the left fuel quantity gauge, and swampy terrain in the emergency landing area.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/30/1995
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City HUDSON
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 44236
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2134
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 30 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:49PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N47316
NTSB Number BFO96LA035
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 152
Aircraft Series Identifier 152
Aircraft Serial Number 15283213
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Oct 10 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 61
Airframe Hours 5793
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CHINN, ROBERT
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5427 MCCORMICK ROAD
Aircraft Owner City RAVENNA
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 44266
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code TOL
Departure City TOLEDO
Departure State OH
Departure Country
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 29G
Destination City RAVENNA
Destination State OH
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --