Cessna 182A N2011G

Summary

On 4 July 1997 at about 19:50 local time, a Cessna 182A registered N2011G was involved in an accident near Santa Paula, California, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 July 1997 at 19:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Paula, California, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Paula (SZP)

Coordinates

34.3994, -119.0700

Aircraft

Cessna 182A

Registration

N2011G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Maria → Pacoima

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97LA232

1 person had minor injuries.

Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/inspection and his failure to ensure that adequate fuel was onboard prior to departure.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that during the preflight inspection a calibrated instrument was used to dip the tanks; the aircraft had approximately 7 gallons in the right tank, and 9 gallons in the left tank. The pilot did not report the nature of the calibrated instrument, nor how it was calibrated to the aircraft fuel system. On takeoff the fuel selector valve was set to the left tank and shortly after takeoff he switched it to the right tank. He ran the right tank dry and when the engine quit, he switched to the left tank and began a circling descent to the airport. The engine ran approximately 5 more minutes and then lost power again. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The pilot reported that prior to the accident the aircraft was running normally and no deficiencies were noted. The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that he had technically ran out of fuel. The inspector examined the aircraft on scene the day of the accident and reported that the fuel system appeared to be intact and no fuel was present in either of the tanks. According to the inspector no other mechanical anomalies were noted with the aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.