Cessna 177B N35170

Summary

On 17 September 2017 at about 20:00 local time, a Cessna 177B registered N35170 was involved in an accident near London, Ohio, 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

17 September 2017 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

London, Ohio, United States

Coordinates

39.9328, -83.4619

Aircraft

Cessna 177B

Registration

N35170

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

London → London

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA358

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's inadequate in-flight fuel management, which resulted in a total 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

The flight instructor and the student pilot were in a cruise descent toward the destination airport when the engine experienced a total loss of power. The instructor performed a forced landing to a corn field, during which the airplane sustained substantial damage. The instructor reported that the airplane had 25 gallons of fuel onboard before takeoff and that the duration of the accident flight was 1.3 hours. Due to a recent engine overhaul, the instructor was operating the airplane at a high power setting with the mixture full rich. He noted that, during previous flights, the fuel consumption was about 11 gallons per hour and calculated that the airplane should have burned about 14.3 gallons of fuel during the accident flight. Since the engine was not being operated at normal cruise power settings, fuel burn based on information in the pilot's operating handbook could not be calculated; however, examination of the airplane after the accident revealed no usable fuel remaining in either wing fuel tank, and no breaches of the fuel system. Subsequent testing revealed no fuel leakage and no excessive fuel consumption during ground runs. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion; however, whether the pilot overestimated the fuel quantity before departure or underestimated the fuel consumption during the flight could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.