Accident Summary
On July 21, 2019, about 1620 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172 airplane, registration N3863L, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Port Townsend, Washington. The private pilot was not injured. The two passengers received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Flight Preparation
The pilot reported that, on the morning of the accident flight, 18 gallons of avgas was added before departing Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), Olympia, Washington, destined for Friday Harbor Airport (FHR), Friday Harbor, Washington. The pilot reported he departed with a total of 27 gallons of fuel on board. He stated that during the northbound flight, they used 0S9 as a waypoint. On the return southbound flight, the pilot planned to use 0S9 as a waypoint but decided to land at 0S9 to use the facilities and to add fuel to the airplane.
Accident Sequence
While preparing the airplane for landing, the pilot flew directly over the runway from the north at 2,000 ft mean sea level (msl) with the intention of landing on runway 27. The pilot reduced engine power to begin the descent and added carburetor heat. He then circled left for a 45° entry into the downwind leg for runway 27.
After he was abeam the approach end of the runway, the pilot decreased power to 1,500 rpm, deployed flaps to 10º and trimmed for 500 ft per minute descent. The engine power continued to decrease below 1,300 rpm with no abnormal noise, and, when the pilot advanced throttle, the engine suddenly quit. While preparing the airplane for the forced landing, the pilot stated that he positioned the fuel selector valve from the BOTH position to the RIGHT position, since the right tank had the most fuel indicated. He continued the forced landing to runway 27 and impacted terrain short of the approach end. The airplane came to rest nose-down, against an embankment with substantial damage to the fuselage, left wing, and engine and cowling area. First responders stated that fuel was observed leaking from the wings while they were onsite.
Post-Accident Observations
During the recovery of the wreckage, it was noted that the right main tank and the right auxiliary tip tank were empty. The left main tank had about 32 ounces of fuel and the left auxiliary tip tank had about 8 gallons of fuel recovered. The wreckage was recovered to a secured facility but was sold before the airframe or engine could be examined by an FAA inspector or the NTSB investigator-in-charge.