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January 26, 2013, Atwater, Calif., Cessna 152

At about 1810 Pacific time, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power while on approach for landing. The pilot made a forced landing in an open field. During the landing rollout, the airplane struck a culvert and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. The solo student pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its tail section and wings. Visual conditions prevailed.

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Key Takeaways:

  • A student pilot made a forced landing in an open field after losing engine power on approach for landing, resulting in the airplane nosing over and sustaining substantial damage, though the pilot was uninjured.
  • The engine power loss was attributed to fuel exhaustion; the pilot started with half-full tanks, became lost, and post-incident inspection found only 1 gallon of fuel remaining—less than the aircraft's 1.5 gallons of unusable fuel.
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At about 1810 Pacific time, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power while on approach for landing. The pilot made a forced landing in an open field. During the landing rollout, the airplane struck a culvert and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. The solo student pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its tail section and wings. Visual conditions prevailed.

During his preflight inspection, the student observed each fuel tank was half-full. He flew for about 20 minutes, then became lost. After obtaining radar vectors back to his departure airport, the engine stopped. The pilot reported pitching for best glide speed but realized the airplane was too low to make it to the runway, so he decided to make a forced landing in an open field.

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