- Date
- August 29, 1990, 12:40 local (16:40 UTC)
- Place
- Gainesville, FL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N30306Cessna 177-A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900829037139A
- Case key
- 32567
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 failure to refuel prior to flight.
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 had flown the airplane 30 minutes since the last refueling. He departed on a crosscountry flight and he told his passenger he was low on fuel and initiated a descent to an airport short of his destination. During the descent the engine failed due to fuel exhaustion. The airplane struck trees and the ground during the attempted forced landing. Examination of the wreckage revealed 1/2 gallon of fuel in each of the undamaged fuel tanks and 4 ounces of fuel in the carburetor.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N30306
- Reported as
- Cessna 177-A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17701183
- Airframe hours
- 1,719
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1F, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sherer, William J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1990 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- 3J7 · Greensboro, GA
- Destination
- OCF · Ocala, FL
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
- 67
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,069 total · 25 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GNV, 2 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.