# Accident 19970409010159A: Cessna 182B, Tullahoma, TN, April 9, 1997 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: April 9, 1997, 19:42 local time - Place: Tullahoma, TN - Airport: Tullahoma Regional Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.3698° N, 86.2002° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.3698&lon=-86.2002&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2515G, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2515G-1997-10-07) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 182B (registry code 2072706, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182b) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182B - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 830 total, 360 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA97LA127](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA127) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970409010159A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.4)THE FLIGHT DEPARTED WITH FULL FUEL TANKS AND DURING CRUISE FLIGHT THE PILOT NOTED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE NEEDLES WERE BOUNCING AND INDICATING BETWEEN EMPTY AND 1/4 FULL. THE FLIGHT CONTINUED THEN DURING CRUISE FLIGHT ABOUT 5-6 MINUTES LATER AND 3 HOURS 6 MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT, THE ENGINE QUIT. THE PILOT INITIATED AN EMERGENCY DESCENT THEN WHILE OVER UNSUITABLE TERRAIN, HE LANDED THE AIRPLANE IN TREES. POST CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE FUEL TANK IN THE LEFT WING WHICH WAS SEPARATED REVEALED IT CONTAINED ABOUT 1/4 CUP OF FUEL. THE FUEL TANK IN THE RIGHT WING WHICH WAS ATTACHED WAS FOUND EMPTY. NO FUEL STAINS WERE NOTED AFT OF EACH FUEL CAP OR AFT OF EACH FUEL TANK SUMP DRAIN FITTING. THE ESTIMATED TIME EN ROUTE WAS CALCULATED TO BE 3 HOURS 13 MINUTES. THE PILOT STATED THAT HISTORICALLY THE FUEL CONSUMPTION IS 12.5 TO 13.0 GALLONS PER HOUR. NO DETERMINATION COULD BE MADE AS TO THE REASON FOR THE EXCESS FUEL CONSUMPTION. (-23) PILOT'S STATEMENT: I CONDUCTED AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. ALDO GIANNERINI AT THE HARTON HOSPITAL IN TULLOHOMA TN, ON APRIL 10, 1997. MR. GIANNERINI STATED HE HAD 830 HRS OF FLIGHT TIME IN THE CESSNA 182 AIRCRAFT. HE FURTHER STATED THAT THE LAST FUEL STOP PRIOR TO THE AIRCRAFT CRASH WAS THE CROSS CITY AIRPORT (CTY), FL. HE FUELED THE AIRCRAFT WITH 37.5 GALLONS OF 100 LOW LEAD FUEL BRINGING BOTH TANKS TO FULL LEVEL. MR. GIANNERINI STATED HE HAD A RIGHT CROSS HEAD WIND WHEN APPROACHING THE TULLOHOMA AIRPORT. AT 5 MILES FROM THE TULLOHOMA AIRPORT, HE STATED THE ENGINE POWER FELL OFF AND THE PROPELLER STOPPED ROTATING. AT THAT TIME THE AIRSPEED DROPPED TO 65 KNOTS. AT THE POINT THE ENGINE STOPPED, THE AIRCRAFT HAD TRAVELED 3 HOURS 5 MINS. FROM ITS TAKEOFF POINT IN FL. MR. GIANNERINI FURTHER STATED THAT HE WAS TRYING TO LAND AT THE TULLOHOMA AIRPORT TO REFUEL THE AIRCRAFT, BUT THE CESSNA 182 CRASHED 3.2 NAUTICAL MILES SHORT OF THE RUNWAY INTO A WOODED AREA ADJACENT TO AN OPEN FIELD. SHORTLY AFTER THE IMPACT BOTH MR. GIANNERINI AND RAYMOND, THE PASSENGER, EXITED THE AIRCRAFT AND WALKED APPROXIMATELY 50 YARDS TO A PAVED ROADWAY WHERE THEY WERE MET BY LOCAL RESIDENTS. IN CLOSING CONVERSATION MR. GIANNERINI INDICATED HE AND MR. RAYMOND BOTH HAD THEIR SEAT BELT AND SHOULDER HARNESS ON. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA97LA127](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA127), Apr 10, 1997: Cessna 182B (N2515G), Tullahoma, TN, substantial damage. Probable cause: Fuel exhaustion for undetermined reasons and unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the pilot to divert to an alternate airport… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.