Cessna 182A N169DP

Summary

On 27 August 2008 at about 22:55 local time, a Cessna 182A registered N169DP, operated by Way-Up Skydive LLC, was involved in an accident near Danielson, Connecticut, 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

27 August 2008 at 22:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Danielson, Connecticut, United States

Nearest airport

Danielson Airport (5B3)

Coordinates

41.8197, -71.9008

Aircraft

Cessna 182A

Registration

N169DP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Way-Up Skydive LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Danielson → Danielson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC08CA295

Nobody was injured.

Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot’s inadequate fuel consumption calculations.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot flew nine skydiving flights on the day of the accident in the Cessna 182A. Each flight was approximately 30 minutes in duration. The airplane was refueled after approximately every other flight with about 12 gallons of fuel. Prior to takeoff for the tenth and final flight of the day, the pilot thought he had about 16 gallons of fuel in the airplane; however, he did not visually confirm how much fuel was in the tanks and could not remember what the fuel gauges indicated. The pilot departed and dropped one skydiver at an altitude of 4,000 feet and two more skydivers at 10,000 feet. Upon returning to the airport, he flew an extended downwind leg to maintain separation with another landing airplane. While turning onto final approach, the pilot attempted to increase engine power, but the engine did not respond. He continued toward the runway, and during the descent the airplane struck trees, impacted the ground, and flipped over, substantially damaging the left wing and fuselage. The airplane’s fuel system held 3 gallons of unusable fuel. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed 4 gallons of fuel were drained from the left fuel tank and about 1 gallon was drained from the right fuel tank. The fuel selector was set on both and preimpact mechanical anomalies were identified. The pilot thought the airplane burned about 12 gallons of fuel per hour, based on his 100 hours of experience in the accident airplane. According to the airplane pilot operating handbook (POH), the airplane burned 12 to 14 gallons per hour, depending on varying performance conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.