Hampton Roads Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Suffolk, Virginia 23432
Sunday, February 25, 2001 3:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After a 4 hour cross county flight, about 5 miles north-northwest of the destination airport, the pilot reported the airplane "ran out of gas" and had lost engine power. During a forced landing to a road, the airplane struck a vehicle and stop sign. The pilot stated he encountered "a little more headwind then was predicated;" however, he felt enough fuel remained in the airplane to reach his destination. Examination of the airplane revealed that the left and right fuel tanks were "dry." The pilot obtained his private pilot license in December of 2000, and had accumulated about 100 hours of total flight experience.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision and his failure to refuel, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/25/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 330
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Suffolk
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23432
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport HAMPTON ROADS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVG
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 5
Degrees magnetic from airport 330
Airport Elevation 23
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 322 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 325
Weather Observation Facility ID cpk
Elevation of weather observation facility 20
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.35
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10321
NTSB Notification Source Richmond FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Feb 28 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jul 30 2001 11:11AM
User who most recently changed record MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Richmond

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N46115
NTSB Number NYC01LA080
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172I
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17257049
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Jan 4 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 100
Airframe Hours 6683
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Aviation Mega Bucks Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5192 w. Military HWY
Aircraft Owner City Chesapeake
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 23321
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 ISP
Departure City Islip
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2340
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PVG
Destination City Portsmouth
Destination State VA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 10 2001 1:43PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --