Cessna 182A N2153G

Summary

On 25 June 2005 at about 18:15 local time, a Cessna 182A registered N2153G was involved in an accident near Star, Idaho, 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

25 June 2005 at 18:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Star, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

43.7233, -116.5439

Aircraft

Cessna 182A

Registration

N2153G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Star → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA05LA127

1 person had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor contributing to the accident were the transmission wires.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane lost engine power and collided with terrain during the forced landing. Prior to the second flight of the day the pilot fueled the airplane's right wing with approximately 8 gallons of fuel, bringing the total fuel load for the flight to approximately 20 or 21 gallons. The operator of the skydiving operation said that he instructed his pilots to fuel the aircraft after each flight to 21 gallons for a load of 3 or 4 people, and to 19 gallons for a load of 2 people. The accident flight consisted of the pilot and three people; a videographer, and tandem jumper, and a tandem instructor. In an interview with an FAA inspector, the videographer confirmed having witnessed the pilot refuel and "stick" the airplane's fuel tanks prior to departing on the accident flight. Subsequently, the videographer recanted his statement and said that he only witnessed the pilot "stick" the fuel tanks, but he did not observe him fuel the airplane. After deploying the jumpers the pilot commenced a descent with a turn to the right, setting the power to 16 inches of manifold pressure and the propeller to 2,250 rpm. The airplane subsequently experienced a loss of engine power, which resulted in the pilot making a forced landing to an open field. During the forced landing attempt the aircraft impacted a set of transmission wires prior to impacting terrain and nosing over. As a result of a concussion he suffered during the accident, the pilot had no recollection of the flight for approximately 7 to 10 minutes immediately prior to the crash. A post-accident examination of the aircraft by an FAA inspector revealed that the right wing contained approximately 1 to 3 gallons of fuel, while the left wing contained about 5 to 7 gallons of fuel. The throttle, mixture and propeller controls were full forward, the carburetor heat was FULL ON, and the fuel selector was positioned to BOTH. A salvage company, who recovered the airplane four days after the accident, reported that during recovery operations approximately 5 gallons of fuel was drained from the left fuel tank, while the right fuel tank was found to be void of any fuel. An examination of the engine and airframe failed to reveal any anomalies, which would have precluded normal operation of the aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.