Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 172 near Campobello, SC — 2015-10-18

Final reportERA16LA018
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Date
2015-10-18
Location
Campobello, SC, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 172
Registration
N6636A
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Cruise

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the fuel system, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to water contamination.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that he performed a thorough preflight inspection and observed no contaminants in the fuel. He reported that, during cruise flight on a local sightseeing flight, the engine lost all power. The pilot could not restart the engine, so he performed a forced landing in a nearby field. During the landing roll, the airplane nosed over and then came to rest inverted, which resulted in structural damage to the airframe. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During examination of the fuel system, water was found in the firewall-mounted fuel strainer. The left wing tank was dry; however, there was evidence of postaccident fuel leakage from the tank. The right wing tank was sumped using a standard 6-inch tube-type fuel tester. The tester was filled twice, and it only contained water each time. The tester was filled a third time, and it contained about 3/4 water and 1/4 fuel. Although the pilot reported that he performed a thorough preflight inspection, his inspection was not adequate because he failed to detect the water contamination.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have checked fuel levels before takeoff to ensure adequate fuel.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents5

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