# NTSB CEN18LA351: Cessna P210, N4842K, Delaware, OH, August 26, 2018 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 26, 2018, 16:34 local (20:34 UTC) - Place: Delaware, OH - Coordinates: 40.299999, -83 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.3000&lon=-83.0000&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 3, 2020 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 98157 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN18LA351 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/98157/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=98157 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18LA351 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction of the formation flight. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Planning/preparation: fuel planning](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061030): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061030/cases.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 719 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061030/cases.md) - [Attention/monitoring: monitoring equip/instruments](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021525): Personnel issues › Psychological · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021525/cases.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 142 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021525/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Landing: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot departed the airport to rejoin and fly in formation with a vintage airplane. After the airplane rejoined the formation, the engine lost total power; the pilot made a forced landing, during which the airplane nosed over and sustained damage to the vertical stabilizer. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal flight operations. Downloaded engine data revealed a rapid drop of fuel flow and decrease in engine rpm that were consistent with fuel starvation. The pilot attributed the power loss to "running the right tank out of fuel" after not switching the fuel selector from right to left fuel tank, as he had initially planned, during the flight. The pilot stated the high engine power setting he used to rejoin with the vintage airplane was a fuel planning consideration for which he had not accounted and that his preflight and in-flight fuel planning routines were rushed because of his desire to rejoin the formation. ## Factual narrative On August 26, 2018, about 1634 eastern daylight time, a Cessna P210N airplane, N4842K, impacted terrain during a forced landing near Delaware, Ohio. The pilot and passenger were not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by Juliet Echo Aviation LLC under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which departed about 1556 from Harry Clever Airport (PHD), Philadelphia, Ohio, with a destination of Grimes Field Airport (I74), Urbana, Ohio. After departing PHD, the pilot climbed to 2,500 ft msl and about 25 minutes later, rejoined to a formation position with a vintage B25 airplane to obtain airborne photos. After being rejoined with the B25 for several minutes, the pilot heard the fuel-injected engine make a "burping" noise, followed by a total loss of power. The pilot executed a forced landing into a cornfield, during which the airplane nosed over, damaging the vertical stabilizer. The pilot stated his preflight and in-flight fuel planning routines were rushed, based on his desire to takeoff and rejoin with the B25 airplane. He recalled takeoff fuel as about 34 gallons, with about 18 gallons in the left tank and about 16 gallons in the right tank, and he departed with the fuel selector set on the right tank. Based on his desire to rejoin expeditiously with the B25, the pilot utilized a higher cruise power setting than normal, with a corresponding higher fuel flow. About 20 minutes into the flight, the pilot's timer set on the GPS to switch fuel tanks alarmed, but he thought it was "too early to switch tanks" and he did not switch tanks or check fuel tank quantities at the time. The pilot thought the power loss was due to "running the right tank out of fuel" and attributed his error to not switching the fuel selector from right to left fuel tank when the GPS timer alarmed, as well as the higher fuel flow during cruise than he had planned. Downloaded engine data revealed a fuel flow near 27 gallons per hour for most of the flight. Total fuel consumed on the accident flight was estimated to be about 15 gallons. Two minutes prior to the forced landing, downloaded engine data showed a rapid drop of fuel flow to nearly zero gallons per hour and a rapid decrease in engine rpm. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal flight operations. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4842K](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4842K), registered now, S/N P21000343, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna P210 (N) - Registry model: [Cessna P210N](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-p210n) (registry code 2073454) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental TSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (registry code 17040, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: P21000343 - Year built: 1979 - Airframe hours: 3683 - Engines: Continental IO520 285 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Juliet Echo Aviation Llc - Registered owner: Juliet Echo Aviation Llc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 25, 2017 - Departed: PHD, New Philadelphia, OH - Destination: I74, Urbana, OH - Equipment: Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 47; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review September 20, 2017; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 4,626 total, 300 in this make and model, 4,540 as pilot in command, 58 in the last 90 days, 39 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 30.10 inHg - Observed at: KDLZ, 5 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20180826015319A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180826015319A), Aug 26, 2018: Cessna P210N, Delaware, OH, Substantial damage. The ATP rated pilot [privacy data omitted] was flying N4842K a CE-P210N, from new philadelphia (phd) to urbana (I74) on a VFR flight plan. Just east of… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 31, 2020, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=98157. 721 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 456 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40480422&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Interview with Pilot (item 2, .PDF, 64 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40480423&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Interview%20with%20Pilot-Master.PDF - Chart of Engine Data from Accident Flight (item 3, .PDF, 105 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40480424&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Chart%20of%20Engine%20Data%20from%20Accident%20Flight-Master.PDF - Engine Data File from Accident Flight (item 4, .CSV, 96 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40480425&FileExtension=.csv&FileName=Engine%20Data%20File%20from%20%20Accident%20Flight-Master.csv 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.