Cessna 182B N7110E

Summary

On 24 April 2006 at about 15:31 local time, a Cessna 182B registered N7110E, operated by Anthony W Poniatoski, was involved in an accident near Gainesville, Georgia, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 April 2006 at 15:31

Classification

Accident

Location

Gainesville, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Lee Gilmer Memorial (GVL)

Coordinates

34.2703, -83.8244

Aircraft

Cessna 182B

Registration

N7110E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Anthony W Poniatoski

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New Smyrna Beac → Kalkaska

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL06LA069

1 person died.

The pilots improper preflight planning and preparation which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight departed New Smyrna, Florida on the day of the accident at 0845 EDT. At 1131 EDT, a witness stated he observed the airplane flying low over trees and "the pilot was attempting to restart the engine". The airplane collided with the top of a large tree and came to rest upside down on the ground. The witness called 911 and the Hall County Sheriff's Department and Fire Department responded to the accident scene. Fire department personnel stated they did not smell or see any fuel around the crash site. Examination of the airplane by an FAA Inspector showed the left and right main fuel tanks were not breached and did not contain any usable fuel. After recovery of the aircraft from the crash site the engine was operated on the airplane without any evidence of precrash mechanical failure or malfunction. Examination of the airplane fuel system, structure, and flight controls showed no anomalies. Review of the Cessna 182 Owners Manual states on page 1-8, that the left and right main fuel tanks hold 32.5 gallons of fuel of which 27.5 gallons of fuel are useable in all flight conditions. In addition, 3.5 gallons of additional fuel are useable from the left and right main fuel tank in level flight only. According to the "Cruise and Range Performance Chart" in the Cessna 182B Owner's Manual, the aircraft should have used between 23.8 gallons (Maximum Range Setting) and 31.9 gallons (Highest power setting on the chart) of fuel during the flight, if it were flown at 5,000 feet MSL. Review of the approved FAA operator's manual dated July 1981 for the O-470L, revealed in accordance with: Figure-11, at 75% brake horsepower the engine will have a fuel burn rate of 15.4 gallons per hour at sea level, at standard day atmosphere. Available records show the airplane was last fueled on April 17, 2006. It could not be determined if the airplane was flown after this refueling and prior to the accident flight. The amount of fuel onboard the airplane at the time of departure could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.