- Date
- September 6, 2020, 20:56 local (Sep 7, 2020, 03:56 UTC)
- Place
- Coeur d'Alene, ID
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N8885XCessna 182
- Defining event
- Emergency descent: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- FAA report
- 20200906016309A
- Case key
- 101932
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 inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and a collision with trees and terrain.
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
The pilot reported that during a cross-country flight at dusk, the airplane encountered greater head winds than planned. The pilot made several engine power and mixture adjustments to compensate for the increased wind velocity and to maintain altitude. About 15 miles prior to reaching the destination airport, the engine lost power. He attempted to troubleshoot the loss of engine power to no avail and initiated a forced landing. The airplane collided with trees and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, the fuselage and empennage. The pilot believed that his fuel planning for the accident flight was insufficient, which resulted in fuel exhaustion. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8885X
- Reported as
- Cessna 182 (D)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18253285
- Built
- 1961
- Airframe hours
- 3,895.3
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 4, 2020
- Departed
- LVM · Livingston, MT
- Destination
- COE · Coeur d'Alene, ID
- Airport
- COE · Coeur D'Alene - Pappy Boyingto
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 38
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 12, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 217.5 total · 180 in this make and model · 16 in the last 90 days · 9.1 in the last 30 days · 5.3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- KCOE, 4 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 20, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 MB 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.