Cessna 182C N8997T

Summary

On 26 January 2015 at about 19:27 local time, a Cessna 182C registered N8997T was involved in an accident near Fort Morgan, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 January 2015 at 19:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Morgan, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

40.1092, -103.7631

Aircraft

Cessna 182C

Registration

N8997T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1960

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lawrence → Boulder

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15CA125

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's improper fuel planning/management, which resulted in the total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and the subsequent forced landing in a pasture.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that before departing on the cross-country flight, he determined by visual inspection, that the fuel level was about 1/2-inch below the top of the filler neck on each wing fuel tank. While established in cruise flight, after about 4 hours of flight, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot was unable to restore engine power and a forced landing was made to a nearby pasture. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane collided with a snow-covered depression that caused the airplane to bounce. The airplane subsequently impacted the terrain in a nose low attitude, collapsing the nose landing gear. The engine firewall and right wing sustained substantial damage during the forced landing. A postaccident examination of the airplane established that the wing fuel tanks appeared to be undamaged and void of any useable fuel. During an interview, the pilot acknowledged that the loss of engine power was likely due to fuel exhaustion. He stated that he did not use the Pilot Operating Handbook procedures to lean the fuel mixture during the accident flight. He recently had to replace a burnt engine cylinder valve, so he was operating the engine at a slightly-rich fuel mixture setting to keep the cylinders from overheating. The pilot stated that the airplane departed with about 65 gallons of fuel, which he believed would provide about 5 hours of fuel endurance while maintaining an average fuel consumption rate of 13 gallons per hour. However, following the accident, the pilot acknowledged that he did not properly account for the entire 10 gallons of unusable fuel within the fuel system.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.