Cessna 152 accident near Panama City, Florida, June 30, 2018
On June 30, 2018 at about 9:45 pm local time, a 1978 Cessna 152, registered N89887, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Panama City, Florida. 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s improper preflight fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent total loss of engine power.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 30, 2018 · about 9:45 pm local time
- Place
- Panama City, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 No Series, built 1978 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N89887 · registry record · serial 15282904
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that, 15 minutes into a cross-country flight, the airplane's engine lost rpm. He added power, and the engine regained rpm briefly before losing all power. The pilot selected a dirt road for an emergency landing, during which the nose landing gear touched down on a soft surface, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and right wings and the front windshield. The pilot reported that the airplane had 4.5 gallons of fuel on board at the last takeoff. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that, during postaccident examination of the airplane, the fuel tanks were found empty. The gascolator had residual fuel, and about 1 gallon of fuel was removed from the fuselage fuel drain. He added that, according to the manufacturer's specifications, the airplane should have had 1.5 gallons of unusable fuel. He turned on the airplane's master power switch to view the fuel quantity gauge indications, and the left-wing tank gauge indicated between empty and a quarter full with no fuel in the tank, and the right-wing fuel tank gauge indicated empty.
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
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute
- Off-field or emergency landing during enroute
- Nose over/nose down during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface › Soft surface › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 198 hours in all; 67 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 134 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 25, 2018
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,735.7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 26, 2017
- Maximum gross weight: 1,669 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L26 (piston); 6,736 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DTS Destin FL at 3:30 pm
- Destination: ECP Panama City FL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Observation at 3:45 pm from KECP, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
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 GAA18CA419.