Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 170B near Ravensdale, WA — 2022-04-24

Final reportWPR22LA166
Sign in to save
Date
2022-04-24
Location
Ravensdale, WA, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 170B
Registration
N4398B
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Cruise

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot’s inadequate fuel planning.

NTSB narrative

The pilot flew and picked up a passenger for a cross-country flight with multiple intermediate legs and a return destination to his original departure airport. About 1 hour and 20 minutes into the accident leg, about 3,000 ft above the ground, the engine lost all power. The pilot restarted the engine, but it lost all power again about 30 seconds later. The pilot then maneuvered the airplane towards a road for a forced landing. The airplane struck treetops and came to rest upright on a riverbank. Recovery of the airplane revealed that less than a gallon of fuel was retrieved from the two 20-gallon wing fuel tanks. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical anomalies. The pilot stated that the engine consumed 12 gallons of fuel per hour and calculated that he had about 3 hours of flight time after filling the aircraft with 34–36 gallons of fuel. Fuel planning calculations revealed that at the time of the loss of engine power, the airplane flew for a total of about 2.8 hours and would have consumed about 42 gallons of fuel. It is likely that the pilot exhausted all usable fuel as he decided to divert to another airport without proper fuel planning.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot should have refueled at R49 before continuing flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ADS-B / radar
  • Photos
  • 9 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents9

Related mishaps