Cessna 182F N3184U

Summary

On 26 June 2005 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 182F registered N3184U was involved in an accident near Lapeer, Michigan, United States. One person was 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

26 June 2005 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lapeer, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Dupont-Lapeer (D95)

Coordinates

43.0500, -83.2833

Aircraft

Cessna 182F

Registration

N3184U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Flint → Bad Axe

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI05CA166

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection due to his failure to physically verify the security of the fuel tank caps, the unsecured fuel tank cap and fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was substantially damaged when it nosed over during a forced landing following an in-flight loss of engine power. The pilot stated that after 2 hours total flight time since refueling, the engine "coughed and [stopped] firing." He executed a forced landing in a cornfield, during which the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over. A post-accident inspection revealed that the left fuel tank cap was not secure and was retained only by the safety chain between the cap and the fuel filler port. The right fuel tank cap was secured to the fuel tank filler port. No fuel was present in either fuel tank. The ground under the left fuel tank cap was discolored consistent with a fuel spill over a 12-inch diameter area, to a depth of about 4 inches. A stain consistent in appearance to fuel and several "nick marks" were observed on the upper surface of the left wing aft of the fuel tank filler port. The cockpit fuel selector handle was on the "BOTH" setting when observed after the accident. The pilot stated that he visually inspected the fuel caps from the ground after refueling. He did not physically verify the security of the fuel caps.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.