- Date
- April 20, 1999, 18:34 local (Apr 21, 1999, 01:34 UTC)
- Place
- San Luis Obispo, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7317XCessna R182
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report June 23, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990420019579A
- Case key
- 46143
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 inadequate preflight inspection of the aircraft by the pilot-in-command which resulted in a loss of engine power due to water contamination in the fuel system. A factor in the accident was an improper maintenance alteration which disabled a fuel sump drain.
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
The pilot reported that he was about 6 miles northwest of the airport, returning to the airport for landing, the engine abruptly and completely ceased delivering power. The aircraft descended through a stratus cloud layer and broke out beneath a 900-foot ceiling. The pilot determined that the aircraft would not glide to the airport and made an emergency landing in an open field beside a highway. The right wing struck a sign during the landing. FAA inspectors reported that the engine fuel sump contained a clear fluid resembling water, and that the right-hand fuel tank sump drain had a threaded plug installed which precluded routine sampling of the tank for water.
Factual narrative
On April 20, 1999, at 1834 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna R182, N7317X, was substantially damaged when the right wing collided with a sign during an off-airport emergency landing following loss of engine power near San Luis Obispo, California. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The personal flight, operated by the owner under 14 CFR Part 91, departed from San Luis Obispo at 1800.
The pilot reported that he was returning for landing when the engine stopped abruptly about 6 miles northwest of the airport. The aircraft descended through a stratus cloud layer and broke out beneath a 900-foot ceiling. The pilot determined that the aircraft would not glide to the airport and made an emergency landing in an open field alongside a highway.
In his report to the Safety Board, the pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft, and that water was found in the carburetor at the emergency landing site. He reported that he drained both fuel tank sumps (left and right), as well as the firewall gascolator as part of his preflight inspection.
Inspectors from the San Jose Flight Standards District Office reported that the engine fuel sump contained a clear fluid resembling water, and that the right-hand fuel tank sump drain had a threaded plug installed which precluded routine sampling of the tank for water.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7317X
- Reported as
- Cessna R182
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- R18200073
- Airframe hours
- 1,607
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-J3C5D, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lynn D. Mahin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 3, 1998 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- SBP · CA
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
- 77
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,429 total · 508 in this make and model · 2,360 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 310° at 19 knots, gusting 27
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SBP, 6 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.
Other investigations on N7317X · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.