- Date
- March 14, 2022, 12:58 local (19:58 UTC)
- Place
- Lancaster, CA · Airport
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N94001Cessna T210L
- Defining event
- Approach: Fuel starvation
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20220314003499A
- Case key
- 104814
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
A total loss of engine power due to the pilot’s inadequate fuel management which resulted in fuel starvation and subsequent collision with a fence during landing.
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 in the retractable landing gear-equipped airplane reported that about 700 ft agl, he initiated a descending right turn for landing. The pilot attempted to lower the landing gear however, the landing gear would not extend even after troubleshooting the problem. The pilot recalled that the mixture was rich, the propeller was set to maximum rpm, and full throttle was applied when he aborted the landing, but there was no corresponding response from the engine. The propeller began to windmill, and he attempted to troubleshoot the total loss of engine power by moving the fuel selector from the right tank position to the left tank position and engaged the starter to no avail. During the forced landing, the empennage struck a barbed wire fence short of the runway, and the airplane came to a stop upright. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the empennage and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The post-accident examination revealed that the right-wing fuel tank was empty, and the left-wing fuel tank contained seven gallons of fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N94001
- Reported as
- Cessna T210L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21060478
- Built
- 1974
- Airframe hours
- 6,194
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520H, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 20, 2021
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- KWJF · General William J Fox Airfield, runway 06, 7,201 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 2, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 14,750 total · 1,305 in this make and model · 10,000 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot-rated passenger
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 20,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.26 inHg
- Observed at
- KWJF
- METAR
- METAR KWJF 141956Z 13005KT 10SM CLR 21/M05 A3026 RMK AO2 SLP240 T02061050=
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 28, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.7 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.
Other investigations on N94001 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.