Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bridgeport, Texas 76426
Thursday, June 12, 1997 16:26 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot contacted the Fort Worth Flight Service Station (FSS) while en route from Tyler to Bridgeport and reported 'that he was lost.' The pilot's last radio contact with the FSS was 4 hours and 1 minute after his departure from Tyler. Bridgeport was his planned refueling stop. The 40-hour student pilot reported that the engine lost power, and he attempted to land in an open pasture. The student pilot further stated that the nose wheel impacted a rock during the landing roll and the airplane nosed over coming to rest in the inverted position. No evidence of rotational scoring was noted on either propeller blade. During examination of the two wing tanks, approximately 2 gallons of fuel were drained from the fuel cells. According to the pilot's operating handbook, the unusable fuel for the 1981 model Cessna 152 is 1.5 gallons.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as result of the pilot's failure to refuel. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/12/1997
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1626
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City BRIDGEPORT
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76426
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 6
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 Full
Investigator's weather source Witness
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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) 393
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 13 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 715
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:20PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6182U
NTSB Number FTW97LA218
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
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 15284734
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 Apr 1 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 32
Airframe Hours 3800
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BILL D. WOOD
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7651 HILL N. DALE RD.
Aircraft Owner City TYLER
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 75709
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name JOHN C. HARDER
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address ROUTE 2, BOX 862
Operator City TYLER
Operator State TX
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 75704
Operator Code ZTYS
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code TYR
Departure City TYLER
Departure State TX
Departure Country
Departure Time 1220
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 1F9
Destination City
Destination State TX
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
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 --