- Date
- May 27, 2001, 11:40 local (16:40 UTC)
- Place
- Hondo, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9875ECessna 182P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 9, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20010527009189A
- Case key
- 52354
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 inadequate preflight of the airplane, which resulted in a loss of engine power in cruise flight due to water in the fuel. A contributing factor was the soft terrain encountered during the forced landing.
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 engine power dropped to 900 rpm during cruise flight at 2,500 feet msl. During the off airport landing, the nose landing gear dug into the soft terrain, and the airplane came to rest in the inverted position. Water and debris were found mixed with the fuel drained from the gascolator. The pilot reported that he found no water in the fuel during the preflight, and no discrepancies with the aircraft during the pre-takeoff run up of the engine. A fuel sample from the fueling truck was not contaminated.
Factual narrative
On May 27, 2001, at 1140 central daylight time, a Cessna 182P, single-engine airplane, N9875E, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during cruise flight near Hondo, Texas. The airplane was owned and operated by a private individual under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot, sole occupant, received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the planned cross-country flight to Wharton, Texas. A flight plan was not filed for the personal flight which departed Hondo Municipal Airport at 1120.
The pilot reported that he performed the preflight and found "no water in [the] fuel." The airplane was topped with 25.2 gallons of fuel for the planned flight, and the pilot verified that the fuel tanks were full. Following a satisfactory pre-takeoff, the flight departed runway 17. Several minutes after the airplane was in cruise flight at 2,500 feet msl, the engine power decreased to 900 rpm. The pilot performed the emergency checklist; however, the engine did not regain cruise power. During the off airport landing, the nose gear dug into the soft terrain, and the airplane came to rest in the inverted position.
The FAA inspector, who responded to the site, found the vertical stabilizer bent, upper rudder area crushed, right wing strut bent, and the left wing buckled outboard of the wing strut. The fuselage was wrinkled and buckled.
On May 29, 2001, an FAA inspector examined the airplane at Rusty's Flying Service, Hondo, Texas. Water came out of the carburetor when the throttle was operated. Water and debris were found mixed with the fuel drained from the gascolator. A fuel sample from the fuel truck looked "clear with some minute fibers floating in it," and the fuel color was consistent with 100 low lead aviation fuel.
Maintenance records, reviewed by the FAA inspector, indicated the last annual inspection was performed on March 10, 2001.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9875E
- Reported as
- Cessna 182P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18263936
- Airframe hours
- 1,511
- Engine
- Continental O-470-S, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Henry Jetelina
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 2001 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- HDO · Hondo, TX
- Destination
- 5R5 · Wharton, TX
- Airport
- HDO · Hondo Municipal, runway 17, 6,024 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 48
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 369 total · 67 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 120 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- HDO, 4 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.
Other investigations on N9875E · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.