GAA16CA259

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 182 · Reno, NV · May 24, 2016

Accident · No injuriesData collectionFinal report
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.

Fluids: fuelAircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid levelCessna 182A: 13 casesAll aircraft: 1,695 casesProbable cause
Planning/preparation: fuel planningPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotCessna 182A: 8 casesAll aircraft: 719 casesProbable cause

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.