Cessna 152 accident near Manatí, Puerto Rico, August 9, 2023
On August 9, 2023 at about 5:00 pm local time, a 1980 Cessna 152, registered N5313M, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Manatí, Puerto Rico. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor’s inadequate preflight inspection of the fuel level, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 9, 2023 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Manatí, Puerto Rico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 NO SERIES, built 1980 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N5313M · no longer on the register · serial 15284527
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a visual-flight-rules instructional flight, the student pilot and flight instructor completed a variety of training maneuvers and takeoff and landing practice. They recalled that they departed with a total of about 16 gallons of fuel onboard, based on the preflight inspection of the fuel quantity by the student pilot with a dip stick. While returning to their home airport, about 15 minutes from landing, the engine gradually lost all power. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and attempted to restore engine power without success. She subsequently completed a forced landing in a field. During the landing roll, the airplane impacted an area of vegetation and trees, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who examined the airplane at the accident site found no evidence of fuel. The airplane operator’s log for the accident airplane revealed that the airplane had been operated for a total of 5.2 hours since it was last refueled with an undetermined amount of fuel. According to the Pilot’s Operating Handbook, the airplane’s fuel capacity was 24.5 gallons and the estimated consumption rate was about 5.5 gallons per hour. Based on this information, and the lack of fuel found by the FAA inspector onboard the airplane at the accident site, it is likely that the flight instructor and student departed for the flight without sufficient available fuel, and that the engine lost total power due to an exhaustion of the fuel supply. Had the flight instructor personally verified the total fuel quantity onboard, it is possible that the accident could have been avoided.
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
What happened, in order
- Fuel exhaustion during enroute defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
- Preflight or dispatch event during prior to flight
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Instructor/check pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Instructor/check pilot
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 868 hours in all; 31 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 63 in the last 30 days; 697 as pilot in command; 370 on instruments
- Last flight review: September 1, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 4 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 1 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,713 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 17, 2023; 64 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 7,735 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BQN Aguadilla PR at 4:11 pm
- Destination: SIG San Juan PR
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; scat at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 81°F (27°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 12:45 pm from TJIG, 20 miles away
Weather report (METAR): TJIG 091645Z 10011KT 10SM SCT018 SCT030 BKN060 31/27 A2997
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check at the NTSB.
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.