Cessna 210L N1623X

Summary

On 22 July 1996 at about 19:15 local time, a Cessna 210L registered N1623X was involved in an accident near Fort Myers, Florida, 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

22 July 1996 at 19:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Myers, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Page Field (FMY)

Coordinates

26.6198, -81.8799

Aircraft

Cessna 210L

Registration

N1623X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Petersburg → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA96LA193

Nobody was injured.

failure of the pilot (PIC) to ensure that an adequate preflight inspection was performed; a missing (or loose) fuel cap on the left wing; probable fuel siphoning; and fuel exhaustion, which resulted in a loss of engine power and a subsequent forced landing (ditching) in a river.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

On final approach, the airplane's engine lost power, and a forced landing was made in a river about 2.5 miles from the runway. The recovery crew that had retrieved the airplane from the river, reported that they 'drained no fuel' from the airplane's fuel tanks. The only fluid that the recovery crew found in the fuel tanks was 'river water.' When the airplane was lifted from the river, the left wing fuel cap was missing, and the fuel selector valve was found positioned to the 'left' wing tank. The PIC (pilot-in-command) stated that he checked the fuel caps and fuel level during preflight inspection. However, the copilot indicated that the fuel level and caps were not adequately checked during the preflight, because 'there was nothing available for them to use to reach the top of the aircraft wing.' There were no other breaches found throughout the fuel system. The airplane's engine was operationally checked, and no discrepancies were found during the test run.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.