# NTSB ANC07LA069: Cessna 182, N6428A, Arecibo, PR, July 25, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 25, 2007, 14:20 local (19:20 UTC) - Place: Arecibo, PR - Coordinates: 18.450555, -66.671943 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=18.4506&lon=-66.6719&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 5 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA, Puerto Rico Flight Standards - NTSB case key (mKey): 66304 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC07LA069 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/66304/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC07LA069 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane prior to fuel exhaustion, which resulted in a loss of engine power during climb, and an off-airport forced landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, climb - refueling - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - In flight collision with terrain/water, emergency landing - object - tree(s) - terrain condition - ground ## Analysis The commercial pilot was climbing the airplane with four skydivers aboard when the engine lost power. The pilot told the skydivers to jump when he could not restart the engine, and they all jumped successfully without injury. The pilot made a forced landing short of the departure runway, and the airplane collided with small trees, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. Examination of the airplane disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical problems. The two fuel tanks were not damaged in the accident, and a total of 1.5 gallons was drained from both tanks. The airplane's operation manual indicates that the amount of unusable fuel is 2.5 gallons per tank, or a total of 5 gallons. ## Factual narrative On July 25, 2007, about 1620 UTC, a Cessna 182 airplane, N6428A, crashed short of the runway at the Antonio Juarbe Pol Airport, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, following a loss of engine power while climbing with four skydivers. The local skydiving flight was operated by Sky Dive Extreme Divers, Arecibo, under Title 14, CFR Part 91 in visual meteorological conditions. The commercial certificated pilot and the four skydivers were not injured. An FAA Flight Standards Aviation Administration inspector from the San Juan, Puerto Rico office, went to the accident site and inspected the airplane and conducted interviews. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on 7/26, the FAA inspector related that the pilot and operator stated that the airplane had departed the airport with the four skydivers, and was climbing through 9,000 feet in the vicinity of the airport, when the engine started to surge and sputter. The pilot began a descent toward the airport, and when he was unable to restart the engine, the skydivers successfully jumped at 7,500 feet. The pilot circled over the airport, but landed short of runway 08 during the landing approach, colliding with trees and terrain about 250 feet short of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and tail section. The FAA inspector reported that when he examined the airplane, he could not see any fuel in the wing tanks. He said the fuel tanks were intact, that there was no smell of fuel at the site, and that there was signs of leakage from the fuel caps or on the wings. When the airplane's fuel tanks were drained prior to moving it, he said approximately 1.5 gallons (total) was collected from both fuel tanks. According to the manufacturer's operating manual, the unusable fuel for that model 182 is approximately 2.5 gallons per tank, or 5 gallons total. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6428A](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6428A-2013-04-29), registration cancelled 2013-04-29, S/N 33228, built 1956 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 182 - Registry model: [Cessna 182](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182) (registry code 2072702) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 33228 - Engines: Continental O-470 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Skydiving, Part 91 - Operator: Sky Dive Extreme Divers - Registered owner: Gonzales Gerson - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: ABO, Arecibo, PR - Airport: ABO, Antonio Juarbe ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 29; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review June 1, 2007; seat: left; flight hours: 230 total, 13 in this make and model, 129 as pilot in command, 21 in the last 90 days, 13 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 70° at 20 knots, gusting 25 - Visibility: 15 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 90 °F, dew point 75 °F - Observed at: ABO, 5 nm away 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.