Cessna 182 C-GZYU

Summary

On 4 December 2009 at about 16:40 local time, a Cessna 182 registered C-GZYU, operated by Donald Lounsbury, was involved in an accident near Carmi, Illinois, United States. 2 people were 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

4 December 2009 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Carmi, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

38.0894, -88.1542

Aircraft

Cessna 182

Registration

C-GZYU

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Donald Lounsbury

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Effingham → Effingham

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10CA067

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's failure to assure that the fuel tank filler cap was secured prior to flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane, which was equipped with long range fuel tanks, had been fully fueled five days prior to the flight. After 3.8 hours of flight time, the engine began to surge then lost power. After unsuccessful attempts at restarting the engine, the pilot made an off-airport forced landing during which the airplane nosed over. Postaccident examination determined that the right fuel cap was missing, although the chain and spring clip were still in place. The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to act as a safety aircraft for Operation Migration. She stated that most of the flying involves making right-hand turns, which results in a higher fuel quantity in the right tank than in the left. The right fuel quantity indicator was indicating 3/8 to 1/2 tank of fuel and the left fuel tank was lower when the engine lost power. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger viewed the top of the wings twice after the airplane was fueled: once to install the canopy cover and again to remove the canopy cover. The fuel cap was not checked for security nor was the fuel level visually checked after the airplane was fueled five days prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.