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CEN25LA193

2025-05-31 · Columbus, Mississippi, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport UBS

Current FAA registration · N177LS

Make / Model
CESSNA 177B
Year of manufacture
1977 · 48 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19770131
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A13439

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and improper in-flight decision-making, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and a subsequent landing on rough terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported about 4 hours after departure while on approach to the destination airport, the engine lost total power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a field which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks contained no usable fuel. After the accident, the pilot stated that he did not top off the fuel tanks at his departure airport but only “stuck” the tanks to verify the fuel level. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Contributed to outcome
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_CEN25LA193.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). All research papers