Cessna 172H accident near Hammond, Louisiana, November 27, 1996
On November 27, 1996 at about 7:05 pm local time, a Cessna 172H, registered N2440L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hammond, Louisiana. It was a personal 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's inadequate preflight, resulting in the total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 27, 1996 · about 7:05 pm local time
- Place
- Hammond, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172H · all 172Hs on the register
- Registration
- N2440L · registry record · serial 17255640
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Approximately 5 miles west of the destination airport, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot landed the airplane in a field, and during the landing roll, the left wing struck a concrete pump house. The FAA inspector on the scene reported that he checked the fuel tanks and found 'no fuel in the right wing tank' and 'about a cup' of fuel in the left wing tank. The pilot 'thought the aircraft was full of fuel' when he began the flight. He told the FAA inspector that he had made 'a visual check of the fuel in the tanks' during his preflight. The operator of the airplane reported that the airplane had been 'topped off' the day before the accident and then flown .7 hours. The airplane was not refueled after the .7 hour flight. The accident flight lasted 4.1 hours. The operating handbook for the Cessna 172H shows that at a cruising altitude of 5,000 feet and an engine power setting of 2,500 RPM, a Cessna 172H will have an endurance of 4.8 hours.
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: 114 hours in all; 82 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 36 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,484 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 13, 1996; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300-D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Howell'S Aircraft Service
The flight
- Departed from: GPM Grand Prairie TX at 3:20 pm
- Destination: 0R9
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N2440L the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW97LA050.