Cessna 175 N8861E

Summary

On 15 July 2001 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 175 registered N8861E was involved in an accident near Mooresville, North Carolina, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 July 2001 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Mooresville, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Norman Airpark (14A)

Coordinates

35.7500, -80.9500

Aircraft

Cessna 175

Registration

N8861E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moresville → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA01LA185

2 people were seriously injured.

the pilot's improper fuel consumption calculations, inadequate preflight planning, and failure to refuel the airplane before takeoff, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, and a forced landing in trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot the engine was surging as the airplane started its takeoff roll. When the airplane became airborne the pilot reported he could not maintain altitude and elected to make a forced landing, coming to rest upside down in a tree about 40 feet above the ground. The pilot stated he was flying solo, landed at an airport, and on takeoff "...the engine didn't feel right on full throttle." He and a co-owner of the airplane tried to find the problem, but they could not. They then decided to fly to the airport where the accident eventually took place. They landed twice, and on the second takeoff the pilot stated "...the problem showed up, landing us in the trees." The fuel burn for this airplane was 10 to 10.5 gallons per hour in level flight. Each fuel tank held 26 gallons, for a total of 52 gallons, of which 9 gallons of fuel was unusable, or 43 gallon of usable fuel. The fuel tanks were topped off on June 28, 2001. The owner/student pilot did not log all the time since last refueling the airplane, but 3.98 hours were logged. At 10.5 gallon per hour, 41.79 gallons of fuel would have been used in 3.98 hours. Examination of the fuel system after the accident revealed that about 2 gallons of fuel was drained from the left tank, and no fuel was found in the right tank. The fuel that was drained was clean with no evidence of sediment or water. In addition, there was no evidence of fuel leaks found at the accident site, and no fuel odor was noted at the accident site. Examination of the propeller and engine revealed no discrepancies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.