Cessna 177A N30461

Summary

On 12 March 2003 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 177A registered N30461 was involved in an accident near England, Arkansas, United States. One person was 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

12 March 2003 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

England, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

34.5364, -91.9825

Aircraft

Cessna 177A

Registration

N30461

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hope → Sherrill

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03LA110

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane while searching for a private grass airstrip, which resulted in fuel exhaustion. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight originated with each of the wing fuel tanks 3/4 full of fuel. When the flight neared the destination the pilot was unable to locate the airstrip, circled the area for one hour, ran low on fuel, and executed a precautionary landing to a farm field. The pilot obtained 5 gallons of fuel, was provided directions to the destination airstrip, and departed. The pilot stated that he again was unable to locate the airstrip, and approximately 35 minutes later the engine lost complete power due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot initiated a forced landing to a road, during which the airplane contacted trees and a ditch.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.