Cessna T210L N717KW

Summary

On 18 December 2011 at about 17:00 local time, a Cessna T210L registered N717KW was involved in an incident near Clewiston, Florida, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 December 2011 at 17:00

Classification

Incident

Location

Clewiston, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Airglades Airport (2IS)

Coordinates

26.6003, -80.9417

Aircraft

Cessna T210L

Registration

N717KW

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

North Perry → Clewiston

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12IA114

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he began the flight with about 15 to 18 gallons of fuel on board. About 45 minutes into the flight, the engine experienced a total loss of power, and the pilot performed an off-airport landing. During the approach, the pilot noticed a power line, overran the field, and the airplane came to rest submerged in a freshwater canal with only the left wing above the water. A postrecovery examination revealed that the fuel selector valve in the cockpit was selected to the left fuel tank, the left fuel tank and the fuel lines to the engine were devoid of fuel, and the right fuel tank contained about 2 gallons of fuel. No fuel or oil was observed in the water around the airplane. No mechanical malfunctions were noted that would have prevented normal operation. According to the pilot’s operating handbook, about 0.5 gallon of fuel per tank is unusable. Although some usable fuel was recovered from the right tank, based on the airplane’s fuel consumption data, fuel exhaustion would have been imminent. Further, the quantity of fuel on board was insufficient to meet the 30-minute day visual flight rules fuel reserve requirements specified in 14 Code of Federal Regulations 91.151(a)(1).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.