Cessna 172 N5296H accident near New York, New York

Probable cause

The pilot's decision to initiate a flight into low instrument flight rules conditions, which resulted in six missed approaches at two airports and a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the external pressure the pilot felt to complete the accident flight despite the poor weather conditions.

NTSB analysis

The pilot filed an instrument flight rules flight plan with an estimated en route time of 3.5 hours; however, air traffic control revised his route during the flight, which added an additional 40 to 50 minutes to the total flight time. Upon arrival at the destination airport in night instrument meteorological conditions, the pilot attempted three precision instrument approaches before diverting to a larger airport, where he performed two additional approaches, both of which he terminated and conducted missed approaches due to the weather conditions. During the third approach to the larger airport, the airplane's fuel supply was exhausted, and the engine lost all power. The pilot pitched the airplane for its best glide speed; about 100 ft above the ground, he saw streetlights and attempted to land on the road below. The airplane impacted a building and power lines and came to rest suspended in the power lines a few feet above the ground.

Postaccident examination revealed that the fuel tanks were void of fuel. Examination of the airframe, engine, and the vacuum system found no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had accrued about 80 flight hours of simulated instrument flight experience, and 1 hour of flight experience in actual instrument meteorological conditions with a flight instructor. The accident flight was his first acting as a pilot-in-command while in instrument meteorological conditions.

Weather forecasts for the destination airport and surrounding airports issued before the flight departed projected low instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions at the estimated time of arrival. However, the pilot did not obtain a formal weather briefing before the accident flight. The pilot reported that he was aware of the bad weather before takeoff but decided to complete the flight because one of the passengers had to make an international trip the following day. It is likely that this external pressure contributed to the pilot's decision to attempt the accident flight regardless of the weather conditions.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA19LA150 for the full record.