Pilot Debrief

CESSNA T210M near Mecca, CA — 2016-12-12

Final reportWPR17LA036
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Date
2016-12-12
Location
Mecca, CA, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA T210M
Registration
N761SZ
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Descent

Probable cause

The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation during approach, which necessitated a gear-up landing on unsuitable terrain.

NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he had the fuel tanks filled before departing for the cross-country flight, and he confirmed that they were full during the preflight inspection. During the flight, the fuel meter indicated a flow rate of between 12 and 15 gallons per hour. When the pilot was descending the airplane for the approach to his destination, he noted that both fuel tank gauges were reading just below 1/4 tank and that the fuel totalizer was showing about 22 gallons were remaining. He then switched from the right to the left tank. Subsequently, the engine lost all power. The pilot was unable to restart the engine, so he chose to conduct a gear-up landing in hilly terrain about 10 miles east of the airport, which resulted in substantial damage to the forward fuselage. The flight time from the time of departure to the loss of engine power was about 5 hours. During examination of the airplane 1 month after the accident, no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures were found that would have precluded the normal operation. An unspecified amount of fuel was found in the wing tanks; however, the fuel line between the right header tank and selector valve was breached. Therefore, it is likely that any fuel remaining at the time of the accident drained out of the breached fuel line at the accident site. According to the engine manufacturer, assuming the fuel tanks were full at takeoff and using the time elapsed from takeoff to the loss of engine power and the fuel burn rate during before the flight, it was estimated that the airplane likely had about 10 to 15 gallons of fuel in the tanks when the engine lost power. Given the evidence, it is likely that the engine lost power due to fuel starvation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have diverted to a closer airport when fuel was low.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • FDR / data
  • Photos
  • 10 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents10

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