- Date
- June 20, 2025, 09:10 UTC
- Place
- Rockford, WA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2680YCessna 180E
- Defining event
- Enroute: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250620007469A
- Case key
- 200371
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 preflight inspection, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and a subsequent landing on rough terrain.
Findings · 4
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 of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that about 30 minutes from the destination airport the engine lost all power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a rough field, during which the left main landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks contained no usable fuel. The pilot stated that during his preflight inspection, he did not visually verify the fuel levels in the fuel tanks and relied on the fuel analyzer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2680Y
- Reported as
- Cessna 180E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18051180
- Built
- 1962
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470 SERIES, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- U88 · Garden Valley, ID
- Destination
- DEW · Deer Park, WA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- 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
- 63
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 26, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 5,500 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 9 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.69 inHg
- Observed at
- KSFF, 14 nm away
- METAR
- KSFF 202253Z COR 22009G22KT 10SM SCT065 20/02 A2969 RMK AO2 SLP045 T02000022
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 26, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.3 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 N2680Y · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.