Llano Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Llano, Texas 78643
Saturday, June 15, 2002 11:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he performed a pre-flight inspection and noted that the left fuel tank's gauge indicated empty and the right fuel tank's gauge indicated 1/3 to 1/2 full. He started the airplane, taxied to runway 17 for takeoff, and performed an engine run-up. No anomalies were noted during the engine run-up, and the flight departed. The flight remained in the pattern and the pilot executed a touch-and-go landing. During the initial takeoff climb, approximately 200 feet agl, the engine lost power. During the ensuing forced landing to a field, the pilot verified that the fuel selector was in the both position, the throttle and mixture controls were full forward, and that his passenger's lap belt and shoulder harness were secure. The airplane landed in a mesquite covered field, the right wing struck a tree, the airplane pivoted 90 degrees and came to a stop upright. Both fuel tanks were drained; the left tank was empty and the right tank contained 2.1 gallons of fuel. According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook each wing tank is capable of holding 26 gallons of fuel. The fuel system's capacity is 52 gallons, of which 49 gallons are useable in all flight conditions and 3 gallons are unusable.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/15/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Llano
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78643
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 300413N
Event Location Longitude 0983937W
Event Location Airport Llano Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 6R9
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1102
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID BMQ
Elevation of weather observation facility 1283
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 22
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 120
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.07
Density Altitude (feet) 2870
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) 12528
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 15 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1308
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2002 3:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office San Antonio, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N758W
NTSB Number FTW02LA182
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model R172K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number R1723029
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 10 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 2177
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Thomas E. Rodman
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2700 Scenic Drive
Aircraft Owner City Austin
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78703
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 6R9
Departure City Llano
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1050
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Oct 24 2002 9:35AM
User who most recently changed record SNYG
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 4202
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --