- Date
- July 21, 1991, 18:35 local (Jul 22, 1991, 02:35 UTC)
- Place
- Girdwood, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4944DCessna 182
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19910721028819A
- Case key
- 5584
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
Improper in flight planning, fuel starvation and fuel supply not understood by the pilot. Contributing to the accident was rough and uneven terrain.
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 was on final approach when the engine quit. The airplane crashed approximately 80 feet short of the runway on a dirt service road. Examination of the airplane revealed the left fuel tank had about 6 to 8 gallons of fuel, the right tank was empty. The pilot stated that when the engine quit the fuel selector was on the right fuel tank.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4944D
- Reported as
- Cessna 182
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 51044
- Airframe hours
- 4,292
- Engine
- Continental O-470-L, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Tim Robel
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 12, 1991 · 112 hours before
- Airport
- ADY · Girdwood, runway 19, 2,100 × 80 ft, gravel
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 30
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 600 total · 50 in this make and model · 500 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4944D · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.