Cessna 172G accident near Delta, Colorado, September 19, 1999
On September 19, 1999 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172G, registered N4262L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Delta, Colorado (Delta-Blake airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A forced landing due to fuel exhaustion. Factors were inadequate preflight planing, inadequate in-flight planing and rough uneven, unsuitable terrain for a forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 19, 1999 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Delta, Colorado · Delta-Blake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172G · all 172Gs on the register
- Registration
- N4262L · no longer on the register · serial 17254331
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was completing a 'round robin' cross-country flight during which he did not refuel the aircraft at his intermediate stop or at any of several available airports along his return route. The aircraft suffered fuel exhaustion while on short final to land at his destination airport. An emergency landing was conducted on rough, uneven, unsuitable terrain.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 179 hours in all; 155 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 133 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,364 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 8, 1999; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PGA Page AZ at 5:50 pm
- Destination: 1V9
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 3, 4,578 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 22 knots, gusting 29
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:58 pm from GJT, 30 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N4262L the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.