# NTSB WPR11LA452: Cessna 182H, N1843X, Paragonah, UT, September 16, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 16, 2011, 10:00 local (16:00 UTC) - Place: Paragonah, UT - Coordinates: 37.892501, -112.775558 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.8925&lon=-112.7756&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 26, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 81808 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR11LA452 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/81808/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=81808 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11LA452 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to secure the left tank's fuel cap after refueling the airplane, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid management (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 182H, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=2072718), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) - [Action: lack of action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 182H, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030/cases.md?model=2072718), [All aircraft, 792 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 182H, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md?model=2072718), [All aircraft, 804 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Cessna 182H, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=2072718), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 182H, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2072718), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The airplane was in cruise flight when its engine lost power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a road, but, during the landing roll, he noticed a vehicle coming toward him. He turned the airplane to the right, off the road, through a fence, and into an adjacent field. A local law enforcement officer examined the airplane immediately after the accident and found both fuel tanks empty. He also noted that the left fuel tank’s cap was missing. Three days after the accident, the pilot found the fuel cap in the run-up area at the departure airport. The pilot stated that he had filled both fuel tanks before beginning the flight and that he either did not replace the fuel cap or left it loose following the refueling. Without the fuel cap in place, airflow over the wing suctioned fuel out of the left wing tank during flight. Because of the interconnection between the two wing fuel tanks, fuel from the right wing tank flowed into the left tank and was also lost overboard, resulting in fuel exhaustion. ## Factual narrative On September 16, 2011, about 1000 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182H, N1843X, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Paragonah, Utah. The private pilot received minor injuries, and three passengers were not injured. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which had originated approximately 1 hour 45 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed. According to the pilot, the airplane was in cruise flight when the engine lost power. He performed a forced landing to a road, but, during the landing roll, he noticed a vehicle coming towards him. He turned the airplane to the right off the road, through a fence, and into an adjacent field. The left wing, fuselage, and firewall were bent and wrinkled. A local law enforcement officer examined the airplane immediately after the accident and found both fuel tanks empty. He also noted that the left fuel tank’s cap was missing. The pilot reported finding the fuel cap 3 days later, in the run-up area at his departure airport. The pilot stated that he had filled up both fuel tanks before beginning the flight, and that he either did not replace the fuel cap or left it loose following the refueling. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1843X](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1843X-2018-01-03), registration cancelled 2018-01-03, S/N 18255943, built 1964 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182H - Registry model: [Cessna 182H](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182h) (registry code 2072718) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18255943 - Airframe hours: 3639 - Engines: CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Bromley, Don Curtis - Registered owner: Bromley, Don Curtis - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 3, 2011 - Departed: 74V, Roosevelt, UT - Destination: DXZ, St. George, UT ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 31; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review September 22, 2009; seat: left; flight hours: 100 total, 6 in this make and model, 68 as pilot in command, 6 in the last 90 days, 6 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 63 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.09 inHg - Observed at: CDC, 20 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20110916020929A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110916020929A), Sep 16, 2011: Cessna 182H, Parowan, UT, Substantial damage. On September 16, 2011, N1843X, a Cessna 182, was enroute from roosevelt, UT (74V) to st. george, UT (dxz) when it lost power while in cruise and landed on… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 29, 2012, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=81808. 1.2 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 722 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40375791&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Iron County Sheriff's Report (item 2, .PDF, 513 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40375792&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Iron%20County%20Sheriff%27s%20Report-Redacted.PDF 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.