N738SV – Cessna 172N – 2007-06-30 NTSB Accident Report

On June 30, 2007, a Cessna 172N (N738SV) was involved in an incident near Yorkville, IL. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The inadequate fuel consumption calculations by the pilot, the fuel exhaustion during cruise flight, and the unsuitable landing area encountered by the pilot. Contributing factors were the night light conditions and trees.

The airplane impacted terrain during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power during cruise flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that when he had the destination airport in sight, the left fuel gauge indicated empty and the right fuel gauge indicated "just below 1/4 tank." The engine then quit and he was unable to restart it. The pilot executed a forced landing on a "dark spot" on the ground and airplane impacted trees. Examination of the airplane fuel tanks revealed no usable fuel aboard.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CHI07CA202. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N738SV.