- Date
- May 24, 2016, 13:25 local (20:25 UTC)
- Place
- Reno, NV
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4793DCessna 182
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 12, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20160524010099A
- Case key
- 93244
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 fuel planning, resulting in fuel exhaustion and substantial damage to the firewall during the forced landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Aviation Safety Inspector that arrived at the scene shortly after the accident, he located the uninjured pilot in command (PIC) and a passenger rated pilot who were the only occupants of the airplane. The inspector reported that the PIC told him that he had fueled the airplane prior to the flight. The PIC told the inspector that he had flown 2.5 hours on the right tank which indicated 3.9 gallons of fuel remained per the electronic fuel quantity indicator, at which time he switched to the left tank which indicated 15 gallons of fuel remained per the electronic fuel quantity indicator. The PIC reported to the inspector thatafter switching tanks the engine ran for an additional five minutes and ceased operation. The PIC told the inspector that he contacted air traffic control (ATC) stating that he had experienced an "engine failure", and that they would not make it to the nearest airport. The pilot landed the airplane on a highway five miles from the destination airport. During the landing the nose gear collapsed and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. During a post-accident examination of the airplane by the FAA Inspector, there wasn't any usable fuel found in the left or right fuel tanks, and the paved surface where the airplane landed did not contain any evidence of fuel spillage. The airplane landed 5 miles from the nearest airport. The pilot's destination airport was 17.5 nautical miles southwest of the accident site. The distance between the departure airport and the destination airport was about 415 nautical miles. According to the pilot operating handbook, the range of the accident airplane is 880 nautical miles. The NTSB Investigator contacted the fixed base operator who reportedly fueled the airplane prior to the flight in order to acquire the fuel records. The operator did not have any fuel records for the accident airplane.
Factual narrative
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Aviation Safety Inspector that arrived at the scene shortly after the accident, he located the uninjured pilot in command (PIC) and a passenger rated pilot who were the only occupants of the airplane. The inspector reported that the PIC told him that he had fueled the airplane prior to the flight. The PIC told the inspector that he had flown 2.5 hours on the right tank which indicated 3.9 gallons of fuel remained per the electronic fuel quantity indicator, at which time he switched to the left tank which indicated 15 gallons of fuel remained per the electronic fuel quantity indicator. The PIC reported to the inspector that after switching tanks the engine ran for an additional five minutes and ceased operation. The PIC told the inspector that he contacted air traffic control (ATC) stating that he had experienced an "engine failure", and that they would not make it to the nearest airport. The pilot landed the airplane on a highway five miles from the destination airport. During the landing the nose gear collapsed and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. During a post-accident examination of the airplane by the FAA Inspector, there wasn't any usable fuel found in the left or right fuel tanks, and the paved surface where the airplane landed did not contain any evidence of fuel spillage. The airplane landed 5 miles from the nearest airport. The pilot's destination airport was 17.5 nautical miles southwest of the accident site. The distance between the departure airport and the destination airport was about 415 nautical miles. According to the pilot operating handbook, the range of the accident airplane is 880 nautical miles. The NTSB Investigator contacted the fixed base operator who reportedly fueled the airplane prior to the flight in order to acquire the fuel records. The operator did not have any fuel records for the accident airplane. Several attempts by the NTSB Investigator were made in order to communicate with the PIC and the passenger rated pilot to no avail.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4793D
- Reported as
- Cessna 182 (A)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34893
- Built
- 1958
- Engine
- Continental IO-540-AB1A5, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Extreme Source Inc.
- Registered owner
- Extreme Source Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- U10 · Preston, ID
- Destination
- RNO · Reno, NV
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 68
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 4,101 total · 2,500 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- KRNO, 17 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 1, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 446 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.