- Date
- August 23, 1997, 10:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Delta, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4930DCessna 182A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 2, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970823023459A
- Case key
- 20324
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
Failure by the pilot to properly plan for the flight in that the fuel aboard was insufficient for the planned flight. Factors were: inaccurate fuel gauges and terrain condition for 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 pilot said he took off on a local flight with approximately 11 gallons of fuel on board the aircraft according to the fuel gauges. The engine lost all power approximately 30 minutes after takeoff and the pilot performed a forced landing in a field. At the time the engine failure occurred, the pilot said the fuel gauges read approximately 1/4 fuel quantity in each tank. During landing roll, the aircraft struck a ditch shearing off the nose landing gear and nosed over causing substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, vertical stabilizer, and engine mounts. The pilot stated the engine failed due to fuel starvation with no mechanical malfunction other than the fuel gauges being inaccurate.
Factual narrative
On August 23, 1997, at 1030 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182A, N4930D, nosed over during landing roll following a forced landing approximately 5 miles east of Delta, Colorado. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this local area personal flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed Delta, Colorado, (1V9) about 1000.
According to the pilot, a total loss of power occurred while he was in cruise flight over Grande Mesa at 11,000 feet above mean sea level. He said he attempted to glide to a dirt strip to the south of the mesa and when he realized he would not make the field of choice, he landed in an open field. According to his statement, a ditch transected the field and when the aircraft struck the ditch, during landing roll, the nose landing gear was sheared off and the aircraft nosed over causing damage to the top of the fuselage, vertical stabilizer, both wings and the engine mounts.
In his report to the Board, (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) the pilot stated that he thought he had about 11 gallons of fuel aboard the aircraft, according to the fuel gauges, when he took off. He said that when the engine lost power, the fuel gauges showed approximately 1/4 tank each. The pilot said the engine "quit due to fuel exhaustion" and that there was no mechanical malfunction other than the fuel gauges being inaccurate.
According to the aircraft owner's manual, the total fuel capacity of the aircraft was is 65 gallons with 5 gallons unusable and the fuel gauges were marked E,1/4,1/2,3/4,F. These markings do not indicate gallons of fuel remaining by any direct method.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4930D
- Reported as
- Cessna 182A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 51030
- Airframe hours
- 2,081
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R-25B, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ralph P. & Charlene F. Wallace
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 10, 1996 · 52 hours before
- Departed
- 1V9 · CO
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
- 55
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 789 total · 49 in this make and model · 789 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MTJ, 40 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 N4930D · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.