ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 161505
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 17 October 2013 |
| Time: | 17:11 |
| Type: |  Cessna 172C Skyhawk |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N1512Y |
| MSN: | 17249212 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1962 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3501 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental O-300 SER |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Fairbanks Int'l Airport (PAFA), Fairbanks, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Fairbanks, AK (FAI) |
| North Pole, AK | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot was departing on a short cross-country flight to deliver the airplane for some elective maintenance. He requested and received clearance for an intersection departure. After departure, an air traffic controller instructed the pilot to turn left and proceed on course, but the pilot did not respond. Controllers reported observing the airplane initiating a left turn before descending and impacting terrain on the south side of the airport property.
Postaccident examinations of the airplane revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. However, the examinations did reveal propeller signatures consistent with the engine not producing power at the time of impact. About 2 gallons of what appeared to be 100LL aviation fuel was drained from the right fuel tank and about 0.5 gallon of fuel was drained from the left fuel tank at the accident site. The drained fuel was clean, and no water was present. The carburetor fuel bowl was removed, and it contained only a small amount of fuel. The accelerator pump was actuated by hand, and it did not discharge fuel. No fuel leakage was noted at the accident site. Given the amount of fuel removed from the airplane at the accident site and the propeller signatures consistent with a lack of power, it is likely that the loss of engine power resulted from fuel exhaustion.
A Boeing 737 (737) airplane departed the parallel runway about 1 minute 45 seconds before the accident airplane departed. Although it is possible that wake turbulence existed in the 737’s departure corridor, no evidence was found indicating that the accident airplane experienced wake turbulence.
Toxicological testing revealed that the pilot had a significant amount of glucose in his urine and an elevated Hemoglobin A1C level, indicating that he had diabetes. Family members reported that the pilot was not actively being treated for the condition. The pilot’s actual glucose level at the time of the accident could not be determined; however, based on the available evidence, it is unlikely that the pilot was acutely incapacitated by his diabetes at the time of the accident.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to ensure that adequate fuel was on board the airplane, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent collision with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=1512Y
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Oct-2013 05:08 | Geno | Added |
| 18-Oct-2013 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 18-Oct-2013 21:56 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 29-Nov-2017 09:17 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation