French Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Temecula, California 92563
Friday, March 22, 2013 14:10 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, the airplane lost engine power as it approached the destination airport. The pilot attempted to restart the engine unsuccessfully and performed a forced landing to a nearby street. During the landing roll, the airplane hit a chain link fence and sustained substantial damage to the engine firewall, undercarriage, and the tail. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuel tanks remained intact and were not breached and that both tanks contained a total of 1.5 gallons of fuel. The pilot operating handbook identifies 3.0 gallons as unusable. There was no evidence of preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/22/2013
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1410
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Temecula
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92563
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 333427N
Event Location Longitude 1170743W
Event Location Airport French Valley Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID F70
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1350
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1354 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 215
Weather Observation Facility ID NFG
Elevation of weather observation facility 78
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
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) 29.85
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KNFG 222054Z 22007KT 10SM CLR 19/10 A2985 RM
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31368
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record May 22 2013 1:29PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5931R
NTSB Number WPR13CA163
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 172G
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17253600
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Feb 14 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 6461
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name BUEHMAN JOHN R
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City FALLBROOK
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92028-4105
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name BUEHMAN JOHN R
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City FALLBROOK
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 92028-4105
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 L18
Departure City Fallbrook
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1355
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code F70
Destination City Murrieta
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 22 2013 1:30PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --