# NTSB ANC03LA103: Cessna 180, N2117Z, Nenana, AK, August 26, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 25, 2003, 20:30 local (Aug 26, 2003, 04:30 UTC) - Place: Nenana, AK - Coordinates: 64.78083, -148.634719 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.7808&lon=-148.6347&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 2, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA, Fairbanks Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 57803 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC03LA103 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57803/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC03LA103 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane prior to fuel exhaustion, which resulted in a loss of engine power and a forced landing in unsuitable terrain. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - normal - refueling - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - lack of certification, pilot in command - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - Nose over, emergency landing - terrain condition - none suitable ## Analysis The non-certificated pilot was flying a tailwheel airplane in cruise flight when the engine lost all power. He selected the only landing site possible, a clearing with several tree stumps. During the ensuing landing, the airplane nosed over, and received structural damage to the wings, fuselage, and vertical stabilizer. The pilot stated he did not have a pilot's license, and that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. ## Factual narrative On August 25, 2003, about 2030 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N2117Z, received substantial damage when it lost engine power and nosed over during an emergency landing at an off-airport site, located about 18 miles northeast of Nenana, Alaska. The non-certificated pilot and the sole passenger were not injured. The Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight departed Fairbanks, Alaska, about 1930, and was returning from a remote hunting camp to the Chena Marina airstrip, Fairbanks. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 27, the passenger, who is also the airplane's registered owner, related that during a return flight from a moose hunting camp, the airplane ran out of gas. He said the pilot selected the only available landing site, a clearing that had a large number of tree stumps. He said that during the landing roll, the airplane nosed over, and received substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and vertical stabilizer. The passenger said he was a student pilot, and he thought that the pilot, a former co-owner of the accident airplane, had a pilot certificate. On August 28, at 0900, the pilot of the airplane telephoned the IIC. He related essentially the same information as the passenger. He noted that he did not have a pilot certificate, and that the airplane's engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. A review of the Federal Aviation Administration's pilot database failed to find any record of a pilot certificate for the passenger or the pilot. The pilot did not respond to written requests asking that he submit a completed Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1, as required by Title 49, CFR Part 830. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2117Z](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2117Z), registered now, S/N 18051217, built 1963 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 180 - Registry model: [Cessna 180F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180f) (registry code 2072614) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18051217 - Engines: Continental O-470 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Dennis V. Schmit - Registered owner: Loel Anderson - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: AK28, Fairbanks, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: none; seat: left ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 5,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 50 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20030825036979A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030825036979A), Aug 25, 2003: Cessna 180F, Fairbanks, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) [privacy data omitted] while returning to Fairbanks from a hunting camp in the manly hot springs (paml) area, the aircraft ran out of fuel and the PIC,… ## Other investigations on N2117Z (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 ANC91LA047](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC91LA047), Apr 4, 1991: Cessna 180F (N2117Z), Yukon River, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: A CARBURETOR FUEL LEAK DUE TO INADEQUATE ANNUAL INSPECTION. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE SNOW COVERED TERRAIN. 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. --- 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.