CEN14LA345

The private pilot reported that, when the airplane was about 200 ft above the ground on final approach after a cross-country flight, he saw vehicles and flashers on the runway. He attempted to abort the landing and started climbing the airplane, but the fuel "started cutting out," and he subsequently lost airplane control. A postaccident examination of the airplane, engine, and systems revealed no anomalies. There was no evidence of a fuel spill, and no fuel was visible within the wing fuel tanks. The fuel monitoring instrument indicated that 288 gallons of fuel were used and that 0 gallon of fuel was remaining. The airplane's total fuel capacity was 90 gallons; therefore, it is apparent that the pilot did not reset the fuel monitoring instrument after the airplane was refueled, which resulted in the instrument indicating an inaccurate fuel quantity. It is not known how much fuel was on board the airplane before its departure or whether it would have been sufficient to complete the trip. At the time of the accident, the runway was undergoing construction activities, and a notice to airmen (NOTAM) had been issued to close the runway for a period of about 3 days, including the accident date. Based on the evidence, it is likely that the pilot did not conduct adequate preflight planning, which resulted in his lack of awareness that the runway was closed by a NOTAM and his subsequent attempt to abort the landing. Further, his inadequate preflight planning did not ensure that there was sufficient fuel on board for the flight, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the subsequent loss of engine power during the aborted landing.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 2, 2014, about 1830 mountain daylight time (mdt), a Cessna 210L, N1175Q, was substantially damaged during a loss of control during an attempted go-around from runway 14, at the Las Vegas Municipal Airport (LVS), Las Vegas, New Mexico. The pilot received serious injuries and the three passengers received minor injuries. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the private pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operated on a flight plan. The flight originated from the Ames Municipal Airport (AMW), Ames, Iowa, at an unconfirmed time. The pilot reported to first responders that he was attempting to land on runway 14. He stated that he checked ahead to see if there was any weather or issues with runway 14 but received no response. He proceeded to attempt a landing on runway 14 and when he was about 200 feet above the ground he noticed vehicles and flashers on the runway. He told the first responder that he applied power and started climbing but stated that the "fuel 'started cutting out'" and he lost control. A passenger in the airplane reported to the first responder that she heard her father (the pilot), call the tower to make sure it was ok to land and he received no response. She stated that they then noticed work trucks so he tried to "pull up", but didn't have enough time and the airplane crashed. PERSONNEL INFORMATION According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single engine land airplane rating. The pilot also held a second class medical certificate issued on January 24, 2014. Partial pilot flight logbook records were reviewed. The last entry reviewed indicated that the pilot had accumulated 350.4 hours total flight time. He had received training in the accident airplane, including a high performance checkout, as required by 14 CFR Part 61.31, on July 19, 2013. According to the records, the training lasted 3.2 hours. The records showed that the pilot had accumulated 41.8 hours of experience in the accident airplane as of the last reviewed entry dated August 17, 2013. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The airplane was a 1972 Cessna 210 L airplane. It was a single-engine, high wing monoplane configured to seat 6 occupants. The airplane had a retractable tricycle landing gear and was constructed predominately from aluminum. The airplane was powered by a 6 cylinder Continental IO-520-L engine rated to produce 300 horsepower. Maintenance records for the airplane showed that the most recent annual inspection as required by 14 CFR Part 91.409, was completed on June 27, 2013. At the time of the inspection the airplane had accumulated 5,729.84 hours total time in service, and the engine had accumulated 1,466.64 hours since overhaul. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION At 1853, the recorded weather conditions at LVS were: Wind 150 degrees at 13 knots; 10miles visibility; few clouds at 4,900 feet above ground level; temperature 19 degrees Celsius; dew point 9 degrees Celsius; altimeter setting 30.32 inches of mercury. AIRPORT INFORMATION At the time of the accident, LVS was an uncontrolled airport and did not have an operating control tower. Aircraft operating in the vicinity of LVS used the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) to announce their intentions. LVS had two intersecting runways, runway 14/32, and runway 2/20. A notice to airmen (NOTAM) was in effect for runway 14/32 at LVS. The NOTAM stated that runway 14/32 was to be closed from July 1, 2014, at 1100 mdt, to July 3, 2014, at 2000 mdt. There were no other NOTAMs for LVS. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION On site examination of the airplane revealed that the landing gear was in the down position, although the nose landing gear and left main landing gear had collapsed. The fuel selector valve handle was in-between the left position and the off position. There was no evidence of a fuel spill at the accident scene and no fuel was visible in the wing tanks. Further examination of the airplane was conducted subsequent to its removal from the accident site and no anomalies were found with respect to the airframe, engine, or other airplane systems. The airplane was equipped with a JPI instruments EDM-700 engine monitor, and a JPI FS-450 fuel monitor, both of which were retained for further examination. The EDM-700 did not have recording capability. The FS-450 had recording capability limited to fuel used and fuel available. After the accident the instrument indicated 288.1 gallons of fuel used, and 0 gallons of fuel remaining. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The Cessna 210L was powered by a 300 horsepower Continental IO-520-L engine. It had a fuel capacity of 90 gallons with 89 gallons useable. The straight line distance from AMW to LVS is 658 nautical miles. According to performance charts for the airplane, at 8,000 feet pressure altitude and standard temperature, the airplane could cruise at 171 knots at a fuel burn of 15 gallons per hour. Based on these figures, about 60 gallons of fuel were required for the flight, however, it is not known how much fuel was on-board the airplane prior to the start of the flight.