20031005037479A

(-23) Pilot statement: on oct. 5, 2003 at approximately 0715Z, my Cessna 182H (N1919X) ran out of fuel and crashed while on a return trip from auburn, Alabama (auo). There were no injuries due to the accident and no property damage. The only damage was to the plane, which was totaled. There was enough fuel on board (51 GAL-12GAL in left tank and 39 gal in right) when we left auo at 0520Z to make the return trip which was less than a two hour flight. On the return trip I switched to the right tank immediately after departure in order to compensate for the unequal fuel quantities. Approximately eight miles east of Knoxville, TN (dkx) at 2500 ft, the plane started to sputter and at that time I switched the fuel lever to the both position. The engine fired, ran briefly and stopped. I reported engine failure to the Knoxville (tys) controller. I set the plane up for a slow full flap descent since I could not see any suitable landing area due to darkness. I went between some trees and came to rest in a small field. It was found later in the same day that the left fuel cap was missing resulting in the fuel being siphoned out. However, it is not clear to me how I ran out of fuel when my flight back was primarily on the right tank, which had over three hours of fuel available. Inspector statement: I interviewed gary norton the pilot of N1919X, a Cessna 182H. Mr. Norton stated while on approach to Downtown Island airport (dkx) the engine quit running and would not restart. He tried selecting the left tank, the right tank and both tanks, but was unsuccessful in restarting the engine. He said he could not see the area where he landed; he was just trying to avoid the housed in the subdivision. He said he had departed dkx for a flight to auburn al (auo). He said both tanks were topped off prior to departing dkx, he stated that the aircraft had extended range tanks and held 51 gallons of fuel. He said the aircraft would use around 10 to 12 gallons per hour. The flight to auo took approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes. He said that the fuel consumption to auo seemed to be more than normal. He departed auo at approximately 1:00 am EST and the flight to dkx took 1 hour and 50 minutes. The accident happened at approximately 3:00 am EST. While making the non-powered approach he had selected full flaps to reduce the speed of the aircraft as much as possible. An examination of the crash site the following was noted. Just before touch down the aircraft crossed above a barbed wire fence, the right wing struck a tree, removing the outer section of the wing and wing strut, leaving the right fuel tank attached to the fuselage. The aircraft then struck the ground bending one propeller blade and breaking off the nose gear. An examination of the wreckage no usable fuel was found in either tank and the gas cap on the left wing was missing. A search of the area did not reveal the missing cap. Fuel stains were found streaked along the left side of the aircraft and on the left flap. Mr. Norton said the fuel selector was hard to turn, but he had selected the left tank as the last tank to try to restart. An examination of the fuel selector confirmed his statement. While investigating the accident of a Cessna 182, near Knoxville TN on October 5, 2003, it was found that two aftermarker gas caps had been installed. The cap on the left wing was missing, leading to speculation that during flight, fuel had been siphoned out causing a fuel exhaustion situation, which led to the accident. The aftermarket gas caps were installed in accordance with STC #SA2376CE. The gas caps are designed to be twisted on. When the cap is completely rotated in a clockwise direction, it will stop in a locked position. The gas cap rises approximately 1/2 inches above the upper surface of the wing and is visible from the ground. The gas caps do not have any reference marking to allow a person to visually determine if the caps are properly locked in place. In the interest of public safety it is recommended that the STC be amended to include reference marking of the caps and all owners of the STC be alerted to a possible hazard.