- Date
- April 12, 2017, 10:51 local (17:51 UTC)
- Place
- Manchester, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7945VCessna 180
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2017
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Continental Motors, FAA
- FAA report
- 20170412016499A
- Case key
- 94999
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 improper preflight fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the total loss of engine power.
Findings · 4
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
The pilot reported that, during cruise flight, the engine "quit" while at 1,500 ft above ground level. He added that he landed the airplane in a large, flat pasture, but during the landing, the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tail and wings. In a telephone conversation with the recovery specialist, the pilot reported that the fuel tanks had not been breached during the landing, and he recovered 1.5 gallons of fuel from the right fuel tank and 2.5 gallons of fuel from the left fuel tank. The airplane was equipped with an engine monitoring unit. About 1 hour 13 minutes of data were recorded during the accident flight. The data showed a sudden decrease in exhaust gas temperatures and cylinder head temperatures for all cylinders about the same time. For further information, see the JPI Engine Monitoring Unit data plot in the public docket for this accident. The 1967 Cessna 180 Owner's Manual states, in part: "2.5 gallons [in] each tank [is] unusable in normal flight maneuvers."
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that, during cruise flight, the engine "quit" while at 1500 ft above the ground. He added that he landed the airplane in a large, flat pasture, but during the landing the airplane nosed over. In a telephone conversation with the recovery specialist, he reported that the fuel tanks had not been breached during the landing, and he recovered 1.5 gallons of fuel from the right fuel tank and 2.5 gallons of fuel from the left fuel tank. The airplane was equipped with a J. P. Instruments (JPI) engine monitoring unit. The data downloaded from the unit revealed that on the accident flight, the recorded data spanned about 1 hour and 13 minutes. The data showed a sudden decrease in exhaust gas temperatures (EGT) and cylinder head temperatures (CHT) for all cylinders about the same time. For further information, see the JPI Engine Monitoring Unit data plot within the public docket for this accident. The 1967 Cessna 180 Owner's Manual states, in part: "2.5 gallons each tank unusable in normal flight maneuvers."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7945V
- Reported as
- Cessna 180 (H)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18051845
- Built
- 1967
- Airframe hours
- 5,144.59
- Engine
- Continental O-470-50, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · February 13, 2017
- Departed
- EKA · Eureka, CA
- Destination
- O69 · Petaluma, CA
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 26, 2016
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,332.5 total · 602.7 in this make and model · 1,332.5 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.21 inHg
- Observed at
- 89Q, 2 nm away
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 2, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.1 MB 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.