Pilot Debrief

Cessna 182 near Maitland, FL — 2019-06-12

Final reportERA19FA193
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Date
2019-06-12
Location
Maitland, FL, USA
Aircraft
Cessna 182
Registration
N3051Y
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
2
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

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

NTSB narrative

The private pilot departed on a visual flight rules cross-country flight; according to his filed flight plan, the airplane had 4 hours of fuel onboard. After flying about 3.1 hours, the pilot landed at an intermediate airport before continuing to his destination, which was about 34 miles away. He did not purchase fuel at the intermediate stop. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot declared an emergency with air traffic control and stated that the airplane was not getting fuel out of the right main fuel tank. The pilot was cleared to land at the nearest airport (the intermediate airport) and radio contact with the airplane was lost shortly thereafter. A witness in a boat on a lake saw and heard the airplane overhead. He stated that the engine was sputtering like it was running out of gas. He further stated that the airplane flew past the lake, made a 180° turn and flew back toward the lake; it appeared to impact trees on the lakeshore, then impacted the water. The airplane was recovered from the lake; the intact, unbreached main fuel tanks each contained about 2 gallons of fuel, and the single auxiliary tank also contained about 2 gallons of fuel. According to the owner's manual, the unusable fuel in each main fuel tank was 2.5 gallons and 0.5 gallons in the auxiliary tank. The fuel selector was found in the right main tank position. A test run of the engine using the fuel from onboard the airplane revealed no anomalies. Onboard engine monitor data from the accident flight showed that the cylinder head and exhaust gas temperatures decreased 2 minutes before the data ended. The data also showed the fuel flow rate spiked during the same time, likely due to air introduced into the fuel lines as the engine was starved of fuel.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have refueled at ORL before departing for X50.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 12 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents12

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