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DEN89LA105

1989-04-09 · MORGAN, Utah, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 42U

Current FAA registration · N7847U

Make / Model
CESSNA 172F
Year of manufacture
1964 · 25 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER (145 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19640925
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AAA2C2

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

INADEQUATE SERVICING OF THE AIRCRAFT BY THE PILOT, PARTIAL BLOCKAGE OF THE FUEL LINE AND FUEL FILTER, AND FUEL STARVATION. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE: THE DOWNWARD SLOPING RUNWAY AND A FENCE.

Factual narrative

DRG FLT AT 10,500' MSL, THE ENG LOST POWER & WOULD NOT RESTART. THE PLT MADE A FORCED LANDING ON RWY 21 AT A NEARBY ARPT. THE RWY WAS ONLY 3800' LONG & HAD A RPRTD DOWNWARD SLOPE OF 1.5 DEG. THE WIND WAS ESTIMATED TO BE FROM 270 DEG AT 10 KTS. THE PLT RPRTD THAT DRG THE LANDING, THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN AT ABOUT MIDFIELD & HE WAS UNABLE TO STOP ON THE REMAINING RWY. AFTER GOING OFF THE DEPARTURE END, IT HIT A FENCE & WAS DAMAGED. A POST ACDNT EXAM REVEALED THERE WAS SEVEN GAL OF FUEL REMAINING. A CHECK OF THE FUEL SYSTEM REVEALED EVIDENCE THAT THE MAIN FUEL LINE & FUEL FILTER WERE RESTRICTING FUEL FLOW. THE PLT RELATED THAT THIS ACFT HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM PREVIOUSLY & HE HAD DRAINED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF WATER FROM THE FUEL SYSTEM. AUTOMOTIVE FUEL WAS BEING USED IN THE ACFT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_DEN89LA105.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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