NTSB CHI91LA023 — 1990-11-03 · FORT SCOTT, Kansas, United States

Current FAA registration · N739VN

Make / Model: CESSNA 172N
Year of manufacture: 1978 · 12 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19780606
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A9EE62

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N739VN Cessna 172 None

Probable cause & findings

THE MIXTURE CONTROL WAS SET INCORRECTLY RESULTING IN FUEL STARVATION, AND THE CHECK LIST WAS NOT FOLLOWED BY THE CFI/PIC.

Factual narrative

DURING A NIGHT IFR TRAINING FLIGHT, ON FINAL APPROACH THE ENGINE FAILED TO RESPOND WHEN ADDITIONAL, NEEDED THROTTLE WAS ADDED. THE CFI TOOK OVER THE CONTROLS AND TURNED TO AN ADJACENT FIELD, SHORT OF THE RUNWAY, WHERE AN EMERGENCY LANDING WAS ATTEMPTED WHICH RESULTED IN A NOSE OVER. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE FUEL MIXTURE CONTROL TO BE IN THE OUT, OR IDLE CUTOFF POSITION. NO DEFECTS, MALFUNCTIONS OF FUEL SHORTAGES WERE DISCOVERED, AND ENGINE RUN-UP NORMAL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_CHI91LA023.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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