# NTSB IAD05LA136: Cessna 177RG, N35552, Cadiz, KY, September 15, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 15, 2005, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: Cadiz, KY - Coordinates: 36.772777, -87.519447 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.7728&lon=-87.5194&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 2 minor - Status: Completed, report April 25, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 62464 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD05LA136 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62464/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD05LA136 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power. A factor was the pilot's early flare during the emergency landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, descent - normal - fluid,fuel - exhaustion - in-flight planning/decision - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - Hard landing, descent - emergency - flare - improper, pilot in command (contributing factor) ## Analysis During a cross-country flight, while descending from 5,500 feet, the engine started to "surge". The pilot turned toward the nearest airport, and the engine stopped running. After attaining best glide airspeed, the pilot felt the airplane wouldn't make it to the airport, so he force-landed in a field. The pilot flared the airplane "a little high," and landed hard. A post-accident examination of the airplane revealed 110 ml of fuel in each tank, with no evidence of leakage. En route, the pilot had to deviate once due to weather and once due to a restricted area. The pilot also reported operating the airplane 4.5 hours since the last fuel stop. ## Factual narrative On September 15, 2005, about 1500 central daylight time, a Cessna 177RG, N35552, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in Cadiz, Kentucky. The certificated private pilot and one passenger incurred minor injuries, and one passenger was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight, from Grayson County Airport (GYI), Denison, Texas, to Hopkinsville-Christian County Airport (HOP), Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot reported first departing Parker County Airport (WEA), Weatherford, Texas, about 1010 central daylight, and landing at Grayson County Airport to pick up a passenger. The airplane then departed Grayson County Airport at 1111 central daylight time, on a direct route to Hopkinsville. En route, the pilot had to deviate toward Pine Bluff, Arkansas, for weather, and was later vectored around a restricted area by Fort Campbell Approach Control. After the vector, the pilot started a descent from 5,500 feet, and during the descent, the engine started to "surge". The pilot then turned toward the nearest airfield, Lake Barkley Airport (1M9), Cadiz, Kentucky, and the engine stopped running. The pilot subsequently attained best glide airspeed, but didn't think he'd make it to the airport, and force-landed in a field. The pilot also noted that he might have flared the airplane "a little high," and landed hard. In a separate statement, the pilot reported that the airplane had operated "4.5 hours since our last fuel stop." During a post-accident examination of the airplane, FAA inspectors could drain only 100 ml of fuel from each main fuel tank after tilting the wings. There was no fuel in the fuel lines, and the fuel cap o-rings had "some deterioration but the sealing surface appeared okay; no signs of leakage." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N35552](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N35552-2013-07-22), registration cancelled 2013-07-22, S/N 177RG1052, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 177RG - Registry model: [Cessna 177RG](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-177rg) (registry code 2073709) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-a1b6d) (registry code 41593, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 177RG1052 - Airframe hours: 3092 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360 200 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Ronald Ritchey - Registered owner: Renee's Ride, LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, July 1, 2005, 65 hours before - Departed: GYI, Denison, TX - Destination: HVC, Hopkinsville, KY ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 38; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; last flight review March 1, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 279 total, 72 in this make and model, 229 as pilot in command, 42 in the last 90 days, 29 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: variable at 3 knots - Visibility: 7 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,500 ft broken - Temperature: 77 °F, dew point 73 °F - Altimeter: 29.98 inHg - Observed at: HOP, 25 nm away From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.