Cessna 177RG N8053G

Summary

On 22 August 2017 at about 03:00 local time, a Cessna 177RG registered N8053G, operated by Squadron 2 Acquisition Corp, was involved in an accident near Byron, California, United States. 4 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

22 August 2017 at 03:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Byron, California, United States

Nearest airport

Byron (C83)

Coordinates

37.5044, -121.3853

Aircraft

Cessna 177RG

Registration

N8053G

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Squadron 2 Acquisition Corp

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burns → San Jose

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

GAA17CA505

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper preflight fuel planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he was flying a 400-nautical-mile, cross-county flight. He reported that the outside air temperature along the route had been hot. He recalled that the engine temperature had been high and that he "increased the mixture to cool the engine down multiple times." As he approached his destination, the engine began "coughing for 3-4 minutes" before the engine stopped. He attempted to land at the destination airport but was unable to reach it, so he made a forced landing in a mud-filled drainage channel about .5 mile north of the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage and windscreen. A Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector examined the airplane's fuel system at the accident site. He reported that both fuel tanks were found empty, with about 1/2 cup of fuel at the bottom of the left tank, after removing the sump drain. Per the National Transportation Safety Board's Pilot Aircraft Accident Report, the pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented with the "Use of [a] fuel dipstick for better measurement of fuel quantity." The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.