- Date
- August 16, 1985, 11:20 local (18:20 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Paula, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5879BCessna 182A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850816039369A
- Case key
- 24801
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During a cross country flt the acft experienced fuel exhaustion and collided with ground obstructions during the subsequent forced landing in a river bed. The plt said 4 hrs and 20 mns of engine run time had elapsed since the last fueling of the acft. At the last fueling, the plt said he ordered the acft 'topped,' however, did not visually check the fuel level prior to departure. At the time of the engine power loss, the plt said both fuel gages indicated one-quarter of a tank each. Subsequent testing of the fuel quantity measuring system revealed that the left system was incorrectly calibrated and the gage indicated one needle width below the one-quarter indicies when the transmitter was in the empty position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5879B
- Reported as
- Cessna 182A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 33879
- Airframe hours
- 3,855
- Engine
- Continental O-470 SERIES, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Three Forks Flying Club, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 13, 1984 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- PRB · Paso Robles, CA
- Destination
- SZP · Santa Paula, CA
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 505 total · 19 in this make and model · 455 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- OXR, 19 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.