ERA13LA239

The private pilot/owner of the airplane and a flight instructor departed on a 90-minute flight, which included multiple practice takeoffs and landings at three different airports. When the airplane was at an altitude of about 2,000 feet mean sea level, it experienced a loss of engine power. The flight instructor assumed control of the airplane and noted that the right fuel tank gauge indicated "empty" and that the left fuel tank gauge indicated 25 percent full. He performed the "engine-out" emergency procedures; however, the engine continued to lose power, and he subsequently conducted a forced landing to a grass field. Postaccident examination of the airplane, which included an engine test run, did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Both fuel tanks were found intact. The right fuel tank was empty, and the left fuel tank contained about 7 gallons of uncontaminated fuel, which was only 2 gallons more than the reported usable fuel. The flight instructor stated that the engine continued to operate at low power during the forced landing; however, the lack of rotational damage on the propeller assembly was consistent with a total loss of engine power. Although the reported temperature and dew point about the time of the accident were conducive to the accumulation of carburetor icing at cruise power, given the low fuel state at the time of the power loss, it was more likely that the engine lost power due to fuel starvation.

On May 9, 2013, about 1510 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182G, N2440R, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during a forced landing, after it experienced a loss of engine power while in cruise flight near Clewiston, Florida. The flight instructor and a private pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight that originated at Palm Beach County Airport (LNA), Lantana, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The airplane was owned by the private pilot through a limited-liability-company. According to the flight instructor, the purpose of the flight was for the private pilot to gain additional proficiently and confidence in the airplane. The private pilot and her husband, who was a certificated airframe and powerplant mechanic conducted the preflight inspection and informed the flight instructor that there was 34 total gallons of fuel (18 gallons in the right fuel tank and 16 gallons in the left fuel tank). All pretakeoff checks were normal and the airplane departed LNA without incident. The private pilot practiced takeoffs and landings at LNA, then flew to airports located in Belle Glade (X10) and Pahokee (PHK), Florida, to practice additional takeoffs and landings. After departing PHK, and climbing to an altitude about 2,000 feet mean sea level, the engine began to lose power, and the flight instructor assumed control of the airplane. He noted that the right fuel tank gauge indicated "empty" and the left fuel tank gauge indicated 25 percent full. He then performed the "engine-out" emergency procedures, which included positioning the fuel selector from "both" to the left fuel tank; however, the engine continued to lose power. The flight instructor subsequently performed a forced landing to a grass field. During the landing, the airplane encountered a drainage ditch, the nose gear collapsed, and the firewall sustained substantial damage. During a subsequent conversation, the flight instructor emphasized that the airplane's engine continued to operate at low power after touchdown in the field. He further stated that he believed that the loss of engine power was a result of carburetor ice. When asked if he utilized carburetor heat, the flight instructor stated that he followed the emergency procedures checklist, which included applying carburetor heat. He did not recall, what effect, if any, the application of carburetor heat had on engine performance. He believed the time from the beginning of the loss of power to the off-airport landing was "less than two to three minutes." Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector and an NTSB investigator did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions which would have precluded normal operation. Both fuel tanks were intact. The right fuel tank was empty, and the left fuel tank contained approximately 7 gallons of 100-low-leadaviation gasoline, which was absent of contamination. The airplane was recovered to a storage facility, where the engine was started and test run utilizing the fuel that was drained from the left fuel tank, with no anomalies noted. Additionally, examination of the three-bladed propeller assembly revealed two of the three propeller blades were bent aft, while the third blade remained straight. The propeller blades surfaces and spinner assembly did not reveal any evidence consistent with rotation at the time of ground contact. The airplane was manufactured in 1964, and was equipped with a Continental O-470 series, 230-horsepower engine. According to the pilot operating handbook, the airplane's total fuel capacity was 65 gallons (32.5 gallons per tank), with a total usable fuel for all flight conditions of 60 gallons, when the fuel selector was placed in the "both" position. The airplane was equipped with a J.P. Instruments EDM-700 engine monitor, which was removed and forwarded to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory, Washington, DC, where it was successfully downloaded. The accident flight contained approximately 889 valid points of data over a span of about 90 minutes; however, the only parameters recorded were engine exhaust gas temperature (EGT) and cylinder head temperature (CHT) for each cylinder, and engine oil temperature. The engine EGTs and CHTs were observed to decrease about 2 minutes 30 seconds before the unit was powered off. A weather observation recorded at an airport located about 35 miles north-northeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, included a temperature of 29 degrees Celsius (C) and a dew point of 10 degrees C. Review of an FAA Carburetor Icing Envelope chart placed the reported temperature and dew point in the possibility for icing at "glide and cruise power" area of the chart. The flight instructor reported about 5,300 hours of total flight experience, which included "more than" 500 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The private pilot reported about 230 hours of total flight experience, which included about 90 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane.