Cessna 210 N761DV

Summary

On 16 March 2018 at about 18:45 local time, a Cessna 210 registered N761DV was involved in an accident near Shelburne, Vermont, United States. One person was 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

16 March 2018 at 18:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Shelburne, Vermont, United States

Coordinates

44.3806, -73.2275

Aircraft

Cessna 210

Registration

N761DV

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burlington → Burlington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA111

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate fuel management, 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

The commercial pilot stated that he did not visually check either fuel tank before takeoff because he had observed the airplane being fueled the day before; he assumed that the tanks were full (44.5 gallons of usable fuel per tank, 89 gallons total) and that he would have sufficient fuel (6.5 hours) for his estimated 5-hour aerial survey flight. He departed with the fuel selector positioned to the left tank; his normal routine was to switch fuel tanks every hour for the first 4 hours of flight. About 3 hours into the flight, the engine lost total power. The pilot switched the fuel selector to the right tank and attempted to restart the engine to no avail; he made a forced landing to a snow-covered field, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, an engine mount, and the firewall. Postaccident examination revealed that the left- and right-wing fuel tanks were undamaged, that both fuel caps were secure, and that there was no evidence of leaks. The left tank was empty, and 33 gallons of fuel were drained from the right tank. Visual examination of the engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Although the pilot indicated that his typical routine was to switch fuel tanks every hour, given the amount of fuel remaining in the right tank, it is likely that the pilot did not adequately manage the fuel supply during flight, which resulted in the total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.