Accident Overview
The accident occurred at 2333 local time on a night flight in visual meteorological conditions. The Cessna 172 impacted a cornfield. The airplane was on a return leg of a 154 nautical mile trip, having covered 93 nautical miles at the time of the accident.
Pilot Activity
Earlier that day, the pilot had flown the accident airplane on a 154 nautical mile leg. He also flew a Beech 76 on two 56 nautical mile legs and underwent a flight examination in the Beech 76, which included 2.8 hours of ground testing and 1.5 hours of flight testing. These activities occurred before the pilot re-boarded the accident airplane for the return flight to the original departure airport.
Aircraft Examination
Post-accident examination revealed no preexisting anomalies with the airplane. The right wing fuel tank was breached, but an un-compromised area below the height of the breach contained no fuel. The left wing came to rest inverted; the fuel filler cap was in place with no evidence of leakage. Approximately 1 gallon of fuel was drained from the left fuel tank.
Fuel Analysis
According to the airplane rental logbook, recording tachometer, and hour-meter, the airplane had accumulated 4.8 engine hours and 5.5 hour-meter hours since being fueled four days prior to the accident. No records of subsequent fueling were found. The airplane flight manual lists sea level fuel endurance (with 45 minutes reserve) as follows: 3.9 hours at 75% power, 4.6 hours at 65% power, 5.5 hours at 55% power, and 6.4 hours at 45% power.