NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX91LA286
Registry · N64556
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 172P
Year of manufacture
1982 · 9 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19820129
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A87AF4
Registrant of record
D & S AVIATION LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S IMPROPER PREFLIGHT PLANNING OF FUEL REQUIREMENTS TO ACCOMPLISH THE INTENDED FLIGHT WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADEQUATE FUEL SUPPLY AND SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. A FACTOR WAS THE FENCE.
Factual narrative
A CESSNA 150K COLLIDED WITH FENCE AND NOSED OVER IN AN OPEN FIELD AFTER A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WAS A RESULT OF FUEL EXHAUSTION. THE AIRPLANE TOOK OFF WITH FULL FUEL TANKS. THREE HOURS LATER THE ENGINE LOSS POWER. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT AND THE INTENDED DESTINATION IS ABOUT 344 NM. THE PILOT'S OPERATING HANDBOOK LISTS UNDER THE PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS THE AIRPLANE'S RANGE IS 340 NAUTICAL MILES IN 3.3 HOURS, USING 75 PERCENT ENGINE POWER AT A 7000 FOOT PRESSURE ALTITUDE. FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS DICTATE PILOT'S BEFORE BEGINNING A FLIGHT BECOME FAMILIAR WITH FUEL REQUIREMENTS, AND HAVE ENOUGH FUEL TO FLY TO THE FIRST POINT OF INTENDED LANDING AND FLY AFTER THAT FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1991_LAX91LA286.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2023 · Safety advisor
Safety Advisor: Fuel Awareness
AOPA Air Safety Institute safety advisor on preventing fuel-exhaustion and fuel-starvation accidents in general aviation. Covers pre-flight fuel planning, reserve requirements (14 CFR 91.151, 91.167),…
- Semantic Scholar 2023 · Article (AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum)
The Impact of Multi-Stack Fuel Cell Configurations on Electrical Architecture for a Zero Emission Regional Aircraft
All-electric aircraft can eliminate greenhouse gas emissions during aircraft mission, but the low predicted energy storage density of batteries (=0.5 kWh/kg), and their life cycle, limits aircraft pay…
- Semantic Scholar 2022 · Article (IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo)
Minimising the effect of degradation of fuel cell stacks on an integrated propulsion architecture for an electrified aircraft
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) are receiving interest as an electrical source of energy for aircraft propulsion electrification.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Abstract
U.S. Civil Rotorcraft Accidents, 1963 through 1997
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded 8,436 rotorcraft accidents during the period mid - 1963 through the end of 1997.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
A study of carburetor/induction system icing in general aviation accidents
An assessment of the frequency and severity of carburetor/induction icing in general-aviation accidents was performed. The available literature and accident data from the National Transportation Safet…
- NASA NTRS 2018 · Other
Parachuting to Safety
NASA's Langley Research Center awarded Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to research and develop a new, low cost, lightweight recovery system …
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗