Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Gulfport, Mississippi 39505
Friday, February 7, 1997 16:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that the airplane had been flown 1.8 hours prior to his departure, and he did not refuel. He estimated that two and one half hours of fuel remained. Approximately two hours into the flight, while receiving radar vectors back into Gulfport, the engine lost power. The pilot selected a road and made an emergency landing. The airplane collided with a tree while the pilot attempted a forced landing on the paved road. During an aircraft examination, approximately one and one half gallons of aviation fuel were recovered from the fuel system. According to the aircraft operator's manual, approximately one and one half gallons of fuel in the fuel system were considered unusable. A subsequent engine examination failed to disclose a mechanical problem.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and loss of engine power due to an inadequate supply of fuel.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/7/1997
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City GULFPORT
Event State MISSISSIPPI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 39505
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 2
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1648 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 1
Weather Observation Facility ID GPT
Elevation of weather observation facility 10
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 360
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 135
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 600
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 355
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Feb 10 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:07PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N93873
NTSB Number ATL97LA039
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 15285565
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 21 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 18
Airframe Hours 8750
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name VORTEX HELICOPTERS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 251 EISENHOWER DR APT 170
Aircraft Owner City BILOXI
Aircraft Owner State MS
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 39531
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code GPT
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
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 --