- Date
- October 13, 1990, 20:25 local (Oct 14, 1990, 01:25 UTC)
- Place
- De Funiak Spgs, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N52838Cessna 177RG
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 19, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901013047709A
- Case key
- 32783
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 loose fuel cap and failure of the pilot to assure the aircraft was properly preflighted, which resulted in fuel siphoning and subsequent fuel exhaustion. Factors related to the accident were: faulty fuel quantity gages, the pilot's decision to fly with known deficiencies in the aircraft, dark night, lack of a suitable landing area, and the vehicle.
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 plt stated that due to a bad ankle, he was unable to visually check the fuel tanks for quantity, but had a line boy do this for him. He rprtd the line boy estimated the fuel tanks needed abt 6 gal to be full. The plt said he noted the fuel gages indcd abt 1/4 full & elected to have them filled; however, after discussing the situation with a colleague, he canceled the fuel order. He rprtd that the 30 mi flt at night was uneventful until he was beginning a dscnt, then the eng lost power. He was over a wooded area & elected to land with the gear retracted. Before landing, he saw a road, but said he didn't have time to extend the gear. During the landing, the acft hit a car, then the ground. The vehicle driver rcvd minor injuries. An exam of the acft revealed the rgt fuel cap was loose, which allowed fuel to siphon. Rprtdly, the plt was unable to detect the loss of fuel at night, since the fuel gage indcns did not change.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N52838
- Reported as
- Cessna 177RG
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 177RG1284
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Saunders, Don B. II
- Departed
- SPG · St Petersburg, FL
- Destination
- 54J · De Funiak Spgs, 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
- 56
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,422 total · 14 in this make and model · 1,264 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CEW, 30 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.