Cessna 152 N68757 accident near Atwater, California

Probable cause

The student pilot's inadequate flight planning, which resulted in his getting lost and not being able to return to the airport before the fuel was exhausted and the engine lost power.

NTSB analysis

Upon arrival at the airport for the solo local flight, the student pilot performed a preflight inspection, during which he noted that the airplane had 12 gallons of fuel; he stated that the flight was expected to be 1.3 hours long. During the flight, the student became lost while attempting to return to his home airport. The student contacted air traffic control for assistance and was provided position reports back to the airport but was still unable to identify the airport until he was within about 10 miles of it. About this time, which was 2 hours into the flight, the engine began to run roughly and, shortly after, it lost power. The student's attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful, so he configured the airplane at the best glide speed and conducted an off-airport landing. During the landing roll, the airplane impacted a small rise in the ground and then came to rest inverted.

During recovery of the airplane, it was noted that the fuel tanks had not been compromised, and about 1 gallon of fuel was recovered from both of the fuel tanks. According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook, the airplane had a total usable fuel capacity of 24.5 gallons, 1.5 gallons of which were unusable; with full fuel, the airplane could have flown for about 3.4 hours. Based on the evidence, it is likely that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion because the airplane did not have sufficient fuel on board for the extended flight, which resulted from the student's inadequate flight planning.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR13LA106 for the full record.