Cessna 182A N3904D

Summary

On 7 October 2003 at about 20:30 local time, a Cessna 182A registered N3904D, operated by Laurent Lobjoit, was involved in an accident near Jean, Nevada, 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

7 October 2003 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Jean, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Jean (0L7)

Coordinates

35.7300, -115.4533

Aircraft

Cessna 182A

Registration

N3904D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Laurent Lobjoit

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake Elsinore → Jean

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04LA005

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Following a loss of engine power, the airplane nosed over when the pilot executed a forced landing onto a dirt road. The pilot started a descent out of 9,500 feet mean sea level (msl) when the airplane experienced some moderate turbulence. This was followed by an uncommanded reduction of engine power towards idle. The pilot applied carburetor heat and adjusted the fuel mixture. Despite the pilot's manipulation of engine controls, power was not restored. The pilot selected what appeared to him to be a dirt road on which to force land the airplane. While landing the airplane, deep ruts in the road affected the landing and the airplane came to rest inverted. Examination of the airplane revealed that the total fuel onboard after the accident was 3 gallons. Normal unusable fuel for each tank is 1.5 gallons. However, if the aircraft is not in a level flight attitude, an additional 3.5 gallons of fuel per tank may be unusable due to the aft placement of the fuel line ports in the fuel cells.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.