Cherokee County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Jacksonville, Texas 75785
Tuesady, February 18, 2003 17:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane impacted and came to rest in a grove of trees approximately 1/4 mile short of the landing threshold of the runway. The 400-hour pilot reported to the FAA inspector that the engine "began sputtering and running rough while he was on final, until it finally stopped." The propeller did not exhibit signs of rotational damage, and post-recovery examination of the fuel tanks revealed no fuel was present in either tank. The airplane had been airborne for four hours since the time it departed on a 410-nautical miles cross-country flight. No refueling stops were made along the route of flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparation for the flight which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/18/2003
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Jacksonville
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 75785
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 315209N
Event Location Longitude 0951302W
Event Location Airport Cherokee County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID JSO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 140
Airport Elevation 677
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 140
Weather Observation Facility ID JSO
Elevation of weather observation facility 677
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.98
Density Altitude (feet) 1138
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14266
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Feb 18 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Dallas, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N678BC
NTSB Number FTW03LA100
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 172K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172-58201
Certified Max Gross Weight 2250
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bryan D. Sudduth
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8415 East Indianola Avenue
Aircraft Owner City Scottsdale
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85251
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 0R1
Departure City Atmore
Departure State AL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code JSO
Destination City Jacksonville
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 19 2003 9:10AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 5011
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --