Cessna A185E N712MY

Summary

On 11 March 1996 at about 16:20 local time, a Cessna A185E registered N712MY, operated by Folsom's Air Service, was involved in an accident near Shirley, Maine, United States. 4 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 March 1996 at 16:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Shirley, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Greenville Spb (52B)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna A185E

Registration

N712MY

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Folsom's Air Service

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greenville → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC96LA074

1 person had minor injuries.

the pilot's fuel mismanagement and improper use of the fuel selector valve which resulted in fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot intended to conduct a survey flight of timber property. The airplane departed with 10 and 15 gallons of fuel in the right and left fuel tanks respectively. About 5 minutes after departure the pilot repositioned the fuel selector valve from the both to right position. The flight was continued for approximately 45 minutes with the fuel selector selected to the right fuel tank. The engine then lost total power as the pilot performed a right turn. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft and stated, 'I neglected to switch before the tank was completely empty.' The pilot further stated that the accident could have been prevented by, 'Better management of the fuel system. After the engine quit I should have turned the boost pump on and switched to BOTH on the fuel selector, or simply run on BOTH the entire flight.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.