What happened
On September 7, 2008, a Cessna 172 H departed from Egelsbach for a weekend trip to Rügen. After arriving at the destination, the pilot refueled the aircraft with 114.68 liters of fuel before commencing the return flight the following day. During the flight back toward Egelsbach, the pilot reported that the engine began experiencing intermittent power losses north of Reichelsheim. Following a second occurrence of these engine fluctuations, the pilot decided to perform an emergency landing in a nearby field.
During the landing sequence, the high-wing aircraft overturned while taxiing after touchdown. The incident resulted in two light injuries (the pilot and one passenger) and caused heavy damage to the aircraft.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the engine performance and the fuel state of the aircraft. Investigators examined the aircraft's fuel tanks and noted that the tanks were empty at the time of the accident. Authorities and the recovery team confirmed that there was no evidence of fuel leakage occurring at the accident site following the overturn. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's flight experience, noting that the pilot held a private pilot license and had approximately 50 total flight hours, with 40 of those hours logged in the Cessna 172 H.