FTW86LRG11

1986-01-23 · MCALLEN, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MFE

Aircraft involved

N20889 Cessna 172M None

Factual narrative

THE ACFT CRASHED INTO TWO TREES DURING A FORCED LANDING AFTER THE ENG LOST PWR. THE PLT WAS IN THE PROCESS OF LNDG AT AN ARPT WHEN THE CONTROLLER ASKED HIM TO MAKE A 360 TURN BECAUSE OF TRAFFIC AND TO USE RWY 13 INSTEAD OF 18. AS THE PLT TURNED RT FOR A NEW BASE LEG THE ENG STOPPED. THE PLT NEVER ADVISED THE TWR OF A LOW FUEL STATE OR ASKED FOR EMERGENCY PRIORITY LNDG. THE PLT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENG AND LNDED IN A WOODED AREA. THE CRASH RUPTURED THE FUEL LINES BUT THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL SPILLAGE OR FUEL IN ANY OF THE ACFT TANKS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_FTW86LRG11.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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