- Date
- March 13, 1992, 20:20 local (Mar 14, 1992, 01:20 UTC)
- Place
- Munising, MI
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N96381Cessna 182Q
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920313006339A
- Case key
- 15413
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
The inadequate maintenance inspection to remove water from the fuel system, and the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection.
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 accident airplane had in excess of 32 ounces of water drained from the wing tanks and carburetor/fuel system by the pilot's mechanic and the pilot in preparation for a night cross country flight. The mechanic reported he drained and flushed the system according to the manufacturer's recommendations. The pilot said he refueled the airplane with 88 gallons of fresh av gas and waited 10-15 minutes prior to checking the wing and belly sumps for water. He found no water and began his flight. Approximately 3 hours later he made a forced landing in trees following a loss of engine power. Inspection of the carburetor and fuel system post accident revealed significant quantities of water. The fuel tank from which the airplane was refueled prior to flight was found free of significant contaminates. When fresh,uncontaminated fuel was fed to the engine, it started and ran normally.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N96381
- Reported as
- Cessna 182Q
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18266704
- Airframe hours
- 717
- Engine
- Continental O-470-U, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Olszewski, John N.
- Registered owner
- Olszewski, John N.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 12, 1991 · 65 hours before
- Departed
- DET · Detroit City, MI
- Destination
- CMX · Houghton, MI
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 65
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,500 total · 700 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 30° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -15 °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.
Other investigations on N96381 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.