20161108024599A

On November 08, 2016, about 1415 eastern standard time, a Cessna 177B, N30703, made a forced landing after a total loss of engine power near Hopkinton, rhode island. The private pilot onboard was not injured. The airplane's wings were substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by ^kaulback, edward c.^ as a 14 code of federal regulations part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions existed near the accident site at the time of the accident and the flight was not operated on a flight plan. The flight originated at windham airport (ijd), north windham, Connecticut, about 1400, and was destined for the richmond airport (08R), west kingston, rhode island.

The flight originated at approximately 1400 from ijd, where the airplane was based, and departed with an unknown quantity of fuel. According to the pilot, before departing ijd the fuel quantity was measured using a wooden stick. The pilot determined that there was approximately 3 inches of fuel from the bottom of the tank which he approximated to be 12 gallons total (6 gallons per side). Additionally, the pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to purchase fuel seeing as the cost of 100LL is $3.99 a gallon at 08R. About 15 minutes into the flight, the pilot reported a loss of engine power and made a forced landing about 8 miles west-north west of 08R. The pilot attempted to restart the engine in flight but was unsuccessful.

According to the pilot ^/owner,^ fuel was last purchased for the airplane on September 12, 2016 at bangor international airport (bgr). According to the bangor aviation services fueling records, 30 gallons of 100LL fuel were purchased with 15 gallons going in each tank. The pilot continued from bgr to ijd, which is approximately 234 nautical miles away. On September 17, 2016 the pilot operated the airplane to salmon river airfield (9B8), marlborough Connecticut, which is approximately 15 nautical miles away from ijd. The airplane was next operated on the accident flight.

The airplane came to rest upright in a wooded area on a heading of 320 degrees magnetic. There was no post-impact fire. A post-accident examination of the airplane wreckage revealed the airplane initially landed on a field and came to rest on its nose (main gear intact), tail-high attitude when it collided with a stand of about 50-foot-tall trees at the edge of the field. The flaps were fully extended. The left wing outer end was substantially damaged with the spar being bent backwards. The right wing center to inner section was substantially damaged. The upper end of the pilots side windshield was broken. Fuselage skin was wrinkled near the firewall and the tail area behind the windows. The flaps were fully extended. The throttle, mixture, and propeller controls were all full forward. The only portion of the airplane that separated from airframe was the nose landing gear strut and wheel, which were located near the left main landing gear tire.

Examination of the airplane's fuel system revealed the fuel selector handle was set to both tanks. The left and right wings were both sumped for fuel and no fuel was present. A visual inspection inside each fuel tank revealed there was no visible fuel in each tank. However, the right fuel tank was punctured. Damage sustained to the right fuel tank is consistent with impact damage. There was no staining of fuel anywhere on the airplane. The fire chief that arrived on the accident scene first did not observe fuel leaking from the airplane and stated that no fuel was drained from the airplane. When power was applied to the airplane, the left and right fuel gauges indicated empty. The fuel pump was removed and rotated and two drops of fuel were observed in the pump. About 12 ozs of 100LL fuel was drained from the fuel strainer bowl, carburetor, and auxiliary fuel pump and was absent of debris and water. No debris was observed on the fuel strainer screen.