Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 177 near Chino, CA — 2010-07-11

Final reportWPR10LA345
Sign in to save
Date
2010-07-11
Location
Chino, CA, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 177
Registration
N3295T
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning which resulted in a loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he prepared a flight plan the night before his departure which included three legs, with a fuel stop planned after the second leg. On the day of the accident, the pilot performed a preflight inspection on the airplane and determined that he had sufficient fuel to make the planned 2-hour trip with the appropriate fuel reserve. He flew to the first planned airport, and then amended his flight plan and flew to a different airport, not originally on his flight plan. He did not preflight or consider how this leg would affect his fuel calculations. After the second stop, he did an abbreviated preflight, which consisted of visually checking the fuel and oil levels. He looked into the fuel tanks, but did not physically measure the amount of fuel. He estimated the amount of fuel on board, but did not recognize that the fuel level was too low to make the flight. He then departed for the planned fuel stop airport. The airplane was over a housing tract a few miles northwest of the destination airport when the fuel supply was exhausted and the engine lost power. The pilot made a forced landing on a golf course, but could not stop the airplane before it collided with ground obstacles.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Did not properly assess fuel before departing Kernville for Corona.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 1 docket document
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents1

Related mishaps