Cessna 172C accident near Fairbanks, AK
On October 18, 2013, a Cessna 172C (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fairbanks, AK. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 18, 2013
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172C · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 2 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 64.796°N, 147.881°W
- NTSB ID
- 20131018X32710
Official records · ANC14FA002
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 17, 2013, about 1711 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 172C airplane, N1512Y, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain shortly after departing runway 20L at the Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), Fairbanks, Alaska. The private pilot was fatally injured, and two passengers sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to, and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country flight when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the flight destined to North Pole, Alaska. Air Traffic Controllers on duty at the time of the accident, reported that the airplane departed runway 20L at intersection Romeo. Shortly after departure, the pilot was cleared to turn left and proceed on course, but no verbal response was received from the pilot. The controllers observed the airplane initiate a left turn, before descending and impacting terrain on the south side of the airport property. In a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), the front seat passenger, the pilot's son, stated that the purpose of the flight was to take the airplane to a maintenance provider to install a new nose wheel assembly. He stated that he and the rear seat passenger had just decided to go along for the short flight. They pulled the airplane out of the hangar, and the pilot performed the preflight inspection. The passenger stated that they did not put fue
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.
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Browse: Alaska · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
