NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MIA98LA065
Registry · N6261E
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 172
Year of manufacture
1959 · 39 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER (145 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A82F07
Registrant of record
LAPIC GEORGE R
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
the pilot's inadequate preflight, and subsequent loss of engine power, due to fuel exhaustion, which resulted in a forced landing and impact with trees.
Factual narrative
On January 31, 1998, about 1530 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172, N6261E, owned by a private individual, operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91, personal flight, impacted with a tree during a forced landing near Valkaria, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged. The private pilot was not injured. The flight had originated from Sebastian, Florida, at 1515. The pilot was on a short flight to buy fuel at Valkaria. At a cruise altitude of about 1,500 feet, the pilot reported that the engine began to sputter. He said that before he departed, "...my fuel indicators were showing, left tank between 1/2-1/4 and right just above 1/4 tank...I did not dip my tanks." About 6 miles from the destination airport the airplane's engine "sputtered." He switched to the left tank, the right tank, then back to both tanks. He tried both magnetos and the problem did not clear. The engine then was "windmilling." He could not maintain altitude so elected to make a forced landing in a field, and struck a tree with the left wing. Examination of the wreckage revealed, no fuel in either tank. Examination of the engine did not reveal any discrepancies. The pilot was on a short flight to buy fuel at Valkaria. The pilot reported that at a cruise altitude of about 1,500 feet, the engine began to sputter. He said that before he departed, '...my fuel indicators were showing, left tank between 1/2-1/4 and right just above 1/4 tank...I did not dip my tanks.' About 6 miles from the destination airport, the airplane's engine 'sputtered.' He switched to the left tank, the right tank, then back to both tanks. He tried both magnetos, and the problem did not clear. The engine then was 'windmilling.' The pilot elected to make a forced landing in a field, and the airplane struck a tree with the left wing. Examination of the airplane revealed, no fuel in either tank. Examination of the engine did not reveal any discrepancies. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1998_MIA98LA065.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.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Crash Testing and Simulation of a Cessna 172 Aircraft: Pitch Down Impact Onto Soft Soil
During the summer of 2015, NASA Langley Research Center conducted three full-scale crash tests of Cessna 172 (C-172) aircraft at the NASA Langley Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Simulating the Impact Response of Three Full-Scale Crash Tests of Cessna 172 Aircraft
During the summer of 2015, a series of three full-scale crash tests were performed at the Landing and Impact Research Facility located at NASA Langley Research Center of Cessna 172 aircraft.
- 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),…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2023 · Conference paper
Validation of Training Satisfaction Survey
The Training Satisfaction Survey (TSS) was developed as part of a larger project to examine the features of Virtual Reality software and supporting devices as a training program on visual illusions an…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Data in Brief)
Cockpit voice recorder transcript data: Capturing safety voice and safety listening during historic aviation accidents
Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcripts capture audio data within cockpit environments. This aids the investigation of causal factors contributing to aviation accidents by revealing communication and…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Safety Science)
Safety voice and safety listening during aviation accidents: Cockpit voice recordings reveal that speaking-up to power is not enough
Abstract Safety voice is theorised as an important factor for mitigating accidents, but behavioural research during actual hazards has been scant.
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