Cessna 152 N588BR accident near Thonotosassa, Florida

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning and improper in-flight decision-making, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB analysis

The pilot had planned a multi-leg, cross-country flight at night that was to include a touch-and-go landing at the intermediate destination airport. The pilot had planned that the total duration of the flight would be about 3.25 hours. During the return flight leg, the pilot selected lower altitude cruising altitude than she had originally planned for, deviated slightly from her planned route, and decided to perform a practice instrument approach to the destination airport. About 3.8 (tachometer) hours into the flight, and about while about 10 miles away from the destination airport, the airplane’s engine began losing power. After about 1 minute, the engine lost total power and the pilot conducted a forced landing. The airplane subsequently struck trees and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and wings.

Maintenance personnel who recovered the airplane from the accident site drained about 8 oz of fuel from one fuel tank and about 9 oz from the other fuel tank, which was less than the airplane’s unusable fuel quantity of 3/4-gallon per tank. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Based on this information, the pilot’s preflight and inflight fuel planning did not sufficiently account for the prevailing weather conditions, the deviations from her flight plan, and the airplane’s actual fuel consumption, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA26LA135 for the full record.