- Date
- March 2, 1985, 23:15 local (Mar 3, 1985, 04:15 UTC)
- Place
- Delaware City, DE
- Injuries
- 5 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N18038Cessna 177
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850302005029A
- Case key
- 11161
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 acft departed charleston, SC at about 1730 with 42 gals (5 hrs) of fuel on board for the planned 4 hr flt to smyrna, DE. Headwinds of 10 to 20 KTS were encountered en route, putting the flt in the smyrna area 45 mins late with only 15 mins of fuel remaining. The plt found that the plt-activated-rwy-lights were inop. After several attempts to activate the lights & flying the pattern down to 200 ft, the plt diverted to wilmington arpt, about 30 miles north. The eng lost power at an altitide of 2000 ft when the acft was aprx 8 miles south of wilmington. A subsequent forced landing occurred in a swampy area. The acft came to rest inverted after the nosewheel became mired in mud during the landing. The plt stated that he was later told that personnel at smyrna had shut down the rwy light sys for maintenance & had not reactivated the lights when they had finished.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N18038
- Reported as
- Cessna 177
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17702526
- Airframe hours
- 1,250
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Smyrna Pilots Assoc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- CHS · Charleston, SC
- Destination
- 38N · Smyrna, DE
- Airport
- ILG · Greater Wilmingon
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
- 34
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 294 total · 48 in this make and model · 258 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 340° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ILG, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.