# Accident 19980520010279A: Cessna T210M, Santa Barbara, CA, May 20, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 20, 1998, 15:19 local time
- Place: Santa Barbara, CA
- Airport: Santa Barbara Municipal
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.3981° N, 119.8500° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.3981&lon=-119.8500&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6056B, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6056B-1998-10-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna T210M (registry code 2073451, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-t210m) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA T210M
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO520K
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 605 total, 110 in this make and model, 18 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98LA168](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA168) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980520010279A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE DID NOT VISUALLY CHECK THE FUEL QUANTITY PRIOR TO DEPARTURE. HE FLEW APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS AND 10 MINUTES. THE AIRCRAFT HOLDS 89 USEABLE GALLONS OF FUEL, HAS A MAXIMUM ENDURANCE OF ABOUT 3.7 HOURS AT STANDARD CRUISE, AND BURNS APPROXIMATELY 24 GALLONS OF FUEL PER HOUR. ON THE FINAL LEG OF THE FLIGHT, THE PILOT HAD THE FUEL SELECTOR ON THE LEFT FUEL TANK. HE WAS ON FINAL APPROACH WHEN THE ENGINE QUIT AND BELIEVED HE WAS OUT OF GAS. HE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL IN RESTARTING THE ENGINE AND HE TURNED THE AIRCRAFT AWAY FROM THE BEACH AND DITCHED IN THE WATER. THE AIRCRAFT RETRIEVER REPORTED BOTH FUEL TANKS WERE FOUND INTACT. HE DRAINED APPROXIMATELY 15 GALLONS OF FUEL FROM THE RIGHT TANK AND FOUND NO FUEL IN THE LEFT TANK. (-23) FUEL MISMANAGEMENT/FUEL EXHAUSTED LEFT TANK. AIRCRAFT ENGINE STOPPED. PILOT UNABLE TO RESTART - DITCHED INTO PACIFIC OCEAN NEAR SANTA BARBARA.

## 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 LAX98LA168](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA168), May 20, 1998: Cessna T210M (N6056B), Santa Barbara, CA, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's mismangement of the fuel by the improper position of the fuel tank selector.

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.

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