- Date
- December 9, 1998, 16:17 local (22:17 UTC)
- Place
- Ashland, NE
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3027DCessna 310
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 16, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19981209033169A
- Case key
- 45430
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 pilot's not refueling the airplane to avoid fuel exhaustion, and his inadequate preflight planning. A factor was fuel exhaustion.
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 pilot conducted a forced landing in a field where the airplane sustained substantial damage. The fuel tanks contained only unusable fuel. There was no indication of fuel leaks from the fuel tanks or fuel tank caps. The pilot told initial responders that the engines quit due to fuel exhaustion.
Factual narrative
On December 9, 1998, at 1617 central standard time, a Cessna 310, N3027D, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following loss of power on both engines, about three miles north west of Ashland, Nebraska. The pilot told authorities that the usable fuel was exhausted. The private pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file. The flight originated at Albuquerque, New Mexico, exact time unknown.
After the forced landing the pilot told responding authorities that the forced landing was precipitated by fuel exhaustion. In his written statement he says, "Engine failure unknown."
An inspection of the airplane after the accident revealed only unusable fuel in the tanks. There was no evidence of leaking from the fuel tanks or fuel tank caps.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3027D
- Reported as
- Cessna 310
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 35227
- Airframe hours
- 3,380
- Engine
- Continental O-470-M, 240 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert J. Thomas
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 1998 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- ABQ · Albuquerque, NM
- Destination
- OMA · Omaha, NE
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 701 total · 21 in this make and model · 701 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LNK, 20 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.