Cessna 182A N5927B

Summary

On 30 August 2008 at about 22:50 local time, a Cessna 182A registered N5927B, operated by Skydive Kentucky, LLC, was involved in an accident near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, 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

30 August 2008 at 22:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Elizabethtown, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Addington Field Airport (EKX)

Coordinates

37.6797, -85.9403

Aircraft

Cessna 182A

Registration

N5927B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Skydive Kentucky, LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Elizabethtown → Elizabethtown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA08LA180

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was pressure from the company for the pilot to fly the second load of skydivers without refueling.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was fueled before the pilot's first flight that day. A total of 6.0 gallons of fuel were added to each fuel tank. After fueling, the pilot dipped each fuel tank using the provided dipstick, and determined that each tank contained between 7.0 and 7.5 gallons of usable fuel. He then flew one load of skydivers, returned, and attempted to secure the engine for fueling but was pressured by company personnel that he had enough fuel to make the second flight and that he needed to keep the airplane operating. He reluctantly kept the engine running and did not refuel the airplane, contrary to his typical procedure. The next load of skydivers were boarded, and the flight departed. The flight climbed to 11,000 feet where they were offloaded. He maneuvered away from the airport due to clouds, and when clear of them, proceeded to return. While flying at 2,000 feet close to the traffic pattern, the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. Attempts to restart were unsuccessful. The pilot performed a forced landing in a corn field substantially damaging the airplane. Postaccident, a total of between 8.5 and 9.0 gallons of fuel were drained from the airplane. The total unusable fuel amount for all flight conditions is 10.0 gallons. A replacement propeller was installed and the engine was started and found to operate normally. The owner's manual used by the operator was incorrect, though the pilot knew the correct unusable amount.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.