- Date
- December 17, 2011, 13:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mesquite, NV
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N275PMCessna 208
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 8, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20111217028239A
- Case key
- 82532
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 improper preflight planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
Prior to the flight, the pilot fueled the airplane with 16 gallons of jet fuel. He planned to make two local flights carrying skydivers aloft. During the second skydiving flight, he delayed releasing the skydivers due to traffic in the area. As he turned the airplane back toward the drop zone, the airplane's engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot signaled the skydivers to exit the airplane, feathered the propeller, and executed a forced landing to the runway. The airplane landed long, went off the end of the runway, across a road, and finally came to rest on a golf course. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings. The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight. He also stated that the cause of the loss of engine power was poor fuel management and fuel exhaustion.
Factual narrative
Prior to the flight, the pilot fueled the airplane with 16 gallons of jet fuel. He planned on making two local flights carrying skydivers aloft. During the second skydiving flight he delayed releasing the skydivers due to traffic in the area. As he turned the plane back towards the drop zone the airplane's engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot signaled the skydivers to exit the airplane, feathered the propeller, and executed an attempted forced landing to the runway. The airplane landed long, went off the end of the runway, across a road, and finally came to rest on a golf course. The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight. He also stated that the cause of the loss of engine power was poor fuel management and fuel exhaustion.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N275PM
- Reported as
- Cessna 208
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20800119
- Engine
- P&W PT6A SER, 750 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Skydiving · Part 91
- Operator
- Skydive Mesquite
- Registered owner
- Spokane Turbine Skydiving LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- K67L · Mesquite, NV
- Destination
- K67L · Mesquite, NV
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- K67L · Mesquite Airport, runway 19, 5,100 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 25
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 19, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,022 total · 131 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.28 inHg
- Observed at
- KSGU, 27 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 5, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 572 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.