- Date
- August 11, 1990, 12:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Soldotna, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N52098Cessna 180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19900811033339A
- Case key
- 5424
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion caused by inflight siphoning of fuel.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane made a forced landing into the trees following an engine failure. About 5 minutes earlier, the pilot reportedly saw fuel siphoning from the right fuel tank filler cap. The bottom of the right fuel bladder was found to be not securely fastened. The pilot reported that the fuel tanks were almost empty immediately after the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N52098
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18052498
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R25A, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John D Amundsen
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Departed
- NONE · Drift River, AK
- Airport
- NONE
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 41
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 3,000 total · 900 in this make and model · 2,950 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 45° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 100 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.