# NTSB ERA25LA274: Cessna TP206C, N8670Z, Versailles, KY, July 21, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: July 21, 2025, 10:30 local (14:30 UTC) - Place: Versailles, KY - Coordinates: 38.045781, -84.717274 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.0458&lon=-84.7173&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 November 20, 2025 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 200592 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA25LA274 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200592/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200592 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA274 ## Probable cause The pilot’s mismanagement of the airplane’s available fuel supply, which resulted in fuel starvation and a subsequent total loss of engine power. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid management (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/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: [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was on a multi-stop cross country flight, and after fueling the airplane, had departed for the next leg of the trip. While in cruise flight at an altitude of 11,500 ft msl, the pilot felt an engine vibration, and despite activating the alternate air, the vibration did not improve. He requested radar vectors from air traffic control to a nearby airport, and while descending through 3,500 ft, the engine lost power completely. The pilot then switched from the right to the left fuel tank, activated the fuel boost pump, and unsuccessfully attempted to restart the engine. He subsequently performed a forced landing to a field, during which the airplane’s horizontal stabilizer was substantially damaged. Following the accident, the pilot realized that the quantity of fuel available in the left tank was less than that tank’s unusable amount. With the right fuel tank selected, the engine was started and run with no anomalies noted. Based on this information, the loss of engine power that occurred during the accident flight was most likely the result of fuel starvation. ## Aircraft - Registration: N8670Z (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: CESSNA TP206C - Category: Airplane - Serial number: P206-0470 - Year built: 1968 - Airframe hours: 4959 - Engines: Continental TSIO520C3P 285 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 17, 2024, 26 hours before - Departed: ZEF, Elkin, NC - Destination: RZL, Rensselaer, IN - Equipment: ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Handheld GPS, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 80; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review June 1, 2024; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 2,085 total, 1,570 in this make and model, 2,085 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,200 ft broken - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 72 °F - Altimeter: 30.04 inHg - Observed at: KLEX, 5 nm away - METAR: KLEX 211442Z VRB03KT 10SM FEW013 BKN032 BKN065 26/22 A3004 RMK AO2 T02560222 ## 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 20250721015079A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250721015079A), Jul 21, 2025: Cessna TP206C, Versailles, KY, Substantial damage. The aircraft experienced loss of power with the engine and excuted an emergency landing off airport. Upon landing the aircraft struck a fence post causing… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 20, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200592. 3.6 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 3.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19443808&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 180 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19446127&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Investigative%20Photos-Rel.pdf 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.