Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chandler, Arizona 85225
Monday, August 17, 1998 12:05 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot told the tower that she was running out of fuel. She reported that the aircraft shook and started losing altitude, then seemed to start back up before quitting completely. The pilot landed in the desert terrain and the nose gear and left main landing gear were ripped off. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. An FAA inspector examined the airplane and reported that the fuel lines and both fuel tanks were intact and there was no fuel visible in either tank. He further stated that he conducted an engine run after adding approximately 1 gallon of fuel and making no other adjustments. The engine started on the first try and ran smoothly for several minutes with no abnormal sounds or indications noted. On the flight from Tucson to Las Vegas, 40.7 gallons of fuel were added to the aircraft tanks following landing at North Las Vegas. The fuel system holds 43 total gallons, of which 40.7 are usable.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate preflight planning and in-flight monitoring of the aircraft's fuel consumption.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/17/1998
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1205
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City CHANDLER
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85225
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 8
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1256 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 140
Weather Observation Facility ID PHX
Elevation of weather observation facility 1133
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 120
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 37
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
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) --
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 990
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 17 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1315
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2001 1:56PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5233D
NTSB Number LAX98LA269
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 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier 172N
Aircraft Serial Number 17272462
Certified Max Gross Weight 1465
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jun 27 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 88
Airframe Hours 5426
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TUCSON AEROSERVICE CENTER INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 11700 WEST ARVA VALLEY ROAD 85
Aircraft Owner City MARANA
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85653
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 VGT
Departure City NORTH LAS VEGAS
Departure State NV
Departure Country
Departure Time 735
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code E14
Destination City TUCSON
Destination State AZ
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2001 1:56PM
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 --