Cessna 140 N2370N
7 October 2003 · Ridegway, Virginia, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 7 October 2003 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N2370N was involved in an accident near Ridegway, Virginia, United States. 2 people were 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.
The record
- Date
- at 23:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Ridegway, Virginia, United States
- Nearest airport
- Pace Airport (VA02)
- Coordinates
- 36.5853, -79.8939
- Aircraft
- Cessna 140
- Registration
- N2370N
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Ridegway → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Dusk
- NTSB number
- IAD04CA002
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The pilot's improper pre-flight planning, which resulted in an engine failure due to fuel exhaustion.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot stated that he had completed a pre-flight inspection, and visually checked both fuel tanks, which were full. However, several witnesses reported that the airplane had been flown for 1-hour and 20-minutes prior to this flight with the fuel selector positioned to the left tank, and was not refueled. On the day of the accident, the pilot departed with the fuel selector still positioned to the left tank, and performed several take-offs and landings. About 35-minutes into the flight, during climb-out, the engine sputtered. The pilot pumped the throttle, and got a momentary gain in engine power, followed by a complete loss of power. He instructed the passenger to switch the fuel selector from the left tank to the right tank, but the airplane descended rapidly into trees. Examination of the airplane revealed that approximately 1-quart of fuel remained in the left tank, and a substantial amount of fuel remained in the right tank.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 140 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Aug 2003 | Cessna 140 | Edwardsburg, Michigan, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 9 May 2003 | Cessna 140 | Suffolk, Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Jul 2003 | Cessna 140 | Anchorage, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 3 Oct 2003 | Cessna 140 | Waterloo, Iowa, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 16 Feb 2003 | Cessna 140 | Fryeburg, Maine, United States | Don Thibodwau | No injuries | - |
| 10 Aug 2003 | Cessna 140 | Morrilton, Arkansas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
All 1,576 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Nov 2003 | Northam RAF 2000 | Nelsonia, Virginia, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 18 Jan 2003 | Cessna 172 | Chesapeake, Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Mar 2003 | Mooney M20R | Leesburg, Virginia, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 7 May 2003 | Boeing B767-300 | New Market, Virginia, United States | United Airlines | Serious injuries | - |
| 7 Oct 2003 | Pfeifler EDGE-540 | Warrenton, Virginia, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 May 2003 | Piper PA-22-150 | Roanoke, Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |