DEN03LA088

The pilot was en route to attend his grandson's graduation. The pilot made an en route stop and the airplane was refueled to capacity. Forty-five minutes after departure, the pilot encountered "light to moderate turbulence with strong updrafts." He moved his flight bag, which had been on the right front seat, and placed it on the cabin floor behind his seat. He did not realize that the bag's shoulder strap had slid between the seats and was wrapped around the fuel selector handle. When he moved the bag, he inadvertently moved the selector handle from BOTH to the RIGHT tank position. With his destination in sight, the pilot initiated a slow descent. Approximately 3 to 4 miles north of the airport, the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to move the fuel selector to another tank, but the shoulder pad was securely wedged under the handle. Unable to extend the glide because of low altitude, he notified the airport of his intentions and made a forced landing on a dirt road. As the airplane came over a slight rise in the road that dropped off abruptly, it became airborne again. A left crosswind caused the airplane to drift off the right side of the road and it struck a cedar tree.

On May 23, 2003, approximately 1510 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 175B, N8199T, registered to and operated by the pilot, was destroyed when it struck a tree during a forced landing following loss of engine power approximately 10 miles northwest of Cedar City, Utah, Municipal Airport. The private pilot, the sole occupant on board, received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being operated under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated in Winnemucca, Nevada, at 1150 Pacific daylight time

The pilot said the purpose of the flight was to attend his grandson's graduation in Canon City, Colorado. According to his accident report, he obtained a weather briefing from FSS (flight service station) and filed a VFR (visual flight rules) flight plan to Winnemuca. He departed Newburg, Oregon, at 0530 Pacific daylight time, and arrived at Winnemuca at 1130. While the airplane was being refueled, he obtained another weather briefing from FSS. He departed Winnemuca at 1215 with 5 hours of fuel on board. Approximately 45 minutes into the flight, he encountered "light to moderate turbulence with strong updrafts." He moved his flight bag, which had been on the right front seat, and placed it on the cabin floor behind his seat. He did not realize that the bag's shoulder strap had slid between the seats and was wrapped around the fuel selector handle. When he moved the bag, he inadvertently moved the selector handle from BOTH to the RIGHT tank position.

After being aloft for 3-1/2 hours, he had Cedar City in sight and initiated a slow descent. Approximately 3 to 4 miles north of the airport, the engine lost power. He attempted to move the fuel selector to another tank, but the shoulder pad was securely wedged under the handle. Unable to extend the glide because of low altitude, he notified the airport of his intentions and made a forced landing on a dirt road. As the airplane came over a slight rise in the road that dropped off abruptly, and it became airborne again. A left crosswind caused the airplane to drift off the right side of the road and it struck a cedar tree.