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DEN91LA129

1991-09-12 · STILLWATER, Oklahoma, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SWO

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

POWER LOSS DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION AND THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO REFUEL. A FACTOR WAS: THE ROUGH UNEVEN TERRAIN.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT WAS ON THE LAST LEG OF A STILLWATER-CLINTON-GUTHRIE-STILLWATER, OK, CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT (233 MILES) WHEN THE ENGINE LOST POWER. DURING THE ENSUING FORCED LANDING, THE AIRPLANE OVERTURNED. NO FUEL STAINS WERE NOTED BENEATH THE AIRPLANE. RECORDS SHOWED THE AIRPLANE HAD FLOWN 1.2 HOURS PRIOR TO THE STUDENT USING IT FOR 3.1 HOURS. THE AIRPLANE HAD STANDARD FUEL TANKS (25.5 GALLONS USABLE). THIS EQUATES TO 5.7 GPH. ACCORDING TO THE CESSNA 152 PILOT'S OPERATING HANDBOOK, IF 70% ENGINE POWER IS USED AT A PRESSURE ALTITUDE OF 4000 FEET MSL WITH AN OUTSIDE AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE 20 DEG ABOVE STANDARD, THE AIRPLANE WOULD HAVE A TRUE AIRSPEED OF 102 KIAS AND AN AVERAGE FUEL CONSUMPTION OF 5.7 GALLONS PER HOUR. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_DEN91LA129.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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