Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 182B near Gakona, AK — 2012-07-31

Final reportANC12LA080
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Date
2012-07-31
Location
Gakona, AK, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 182B
Registration
N7150E
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

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

NTSB narrative

The pilot was ferrying the airplane from Washington to Alaska. About 40 minutes into the sixth leg of the trip, the airplane's engine lost all power, and the pilot made a forced landing to a tree-covered field, sustaining substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. A review of the pilot's fueling receipts, along with the flight times on each of the legs, revealed that the engine was consuming an average of 14.6 gallons per hour (gph) of fuel during the first four legs of the trip. On the next leg, the fuel consumption rose to an average of 17.13 gph. The airplane had flown a total time of 3:10:48, from the time the pilot last refueled. According to the airplane manufacturers cruise and range performance charts, if flown in accordance with the notes on the chart, the airplane should have had enough fuel to fly between four and five hours. However, if the most recent calculated actual fuel burn of 17.13 gph was used, the airplanes fuel endurance would have been about 3 hours 12 minutes. Given the pilot's statement that he did not lean the fuel mixture during the leg before the accident leg, the calculated fuel consumption on that leg, and the absence of fuel found in the fuel tanks postaccident, it is likely that the engine was using considerably more fuel than the pilot had calculated by the performance charts. The investigation was unable to determine if the unattached fuel bladder fasteners would have an effect on fuel quantity. Also, given the lack of anomaly during the test engine run, it is likely that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have ensured adequate fuel before departure from Northway.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 4 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents4

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