Cessna 182R N3163E

Summary

On 21 October 1995 at about 00:55 local time, a Cessna 182R registered N3163E was involved in an accident near Redstone Arsena, Alabama, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 October 1995 at 00:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Redstone Arsena, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

Redstone Aaf (KHUA)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 182R

Registration

N3163E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Bright

NTSB number

MIA96TA014

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's poor inflight planning decision for not flying the scheduled time and electing to perform 3 additional takeoffs not planned during fuel consumption calculations. Contributing to the accident was the use of an inaccurate dipstick.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that 3 flights lasting a total of about 5 hours were scheduled due to installation of the rebuilt engine. Before departure on the first flight the fuel tanks were nearly full. The first and second flights were uneventful and both lasted 3.4 hours. The pilot used a commercially fabricated dipstick with incorrect readings to verify fuel quantity before departing on the third flight. Fuel servicing was not performed before departure for the third flight. After departure the pilot activated his VFR flight plan which he later updated the ETA. The flight returned and the pilot performed 2 full stop landings. While turning base for the final full stop landing, the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot was unable to land on the runway due to an extended downwind leg and landed in trees. The engine had been operated for about 6.0 hours since fueling including 3 additional takeoff's not planned during the fuel consumption calculations. Search and Rescue was delayed due to ATC comment that the overdue flight was actually safe on the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.