Cessna 175 N7238M

Summary

On 5 June 2003 at about 02:10 local time, a Cessna 175 registered N7238M was involved in an accident near Middleton, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 June 2003 at 02:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Middleton, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Hubler Field (ID00)

Coordinates

43.6964, -116.6339

Aircraft

Cessna 175

Registration

N7238M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Echo → Caldwell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA03LA093

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to follow the checklist which led to fuel starvation and subsequent loss of engine power. A contributing factor was the uneven terrain at the landing site.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the Cessna 175 departed Caldwell, Idaho, with 52 gallons of fuel (43 gallons usable total or 4.5 gallons unusable fuel per tank) and flew 1 hour and 40 minutes to his destination, Echo, Oregon. He subsequently departed Echo and flew back to his origination airport arriving over the airstrip about 1 hour and 20 minutes later. During the return flight he selected the left tank to balance out the fuel load and left the fuel selector in that position. While overhead his destination the engine lost power, and having no time to troubleshoot the problem, and not wanting to risk crossing high trees in an attempt to reach the end of the runway, he executed a forced landing off airport. The aircraft rolled through uneven terrain incurring substantial damage. An FAA inspector examined the aircraft and found approximately one gallon of fuel in the left tank and approximately 14 gallons of fuel in the right. The first item on the Cessna 175 Owner's Manual "Before Landing" checklist was: Set fuel selector to "both tanks."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.