Cessna T210N N5360U

Summary

On 9 September 2003 at about 19:40 local time, a Cessna T210N registered N5360U was involved in an accident near Pine River, Minnesota, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

9 September 2003 at 19:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Pine River, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Pine River Regional (PWC)

Coordinates

46.7247, -94.1500

Aircraft

Cessna T210N

Registration

N5360U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Superior → Pine River

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI03LA305

1 person was seriously injured.

An inadequate pre-flight inspection by the pilot due to his failure to visually confirm fuel quantity prior to flight, and the resulting fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors were the pilot's improper use of the fuel management computer installed in the aircraft, and the tree located in the middle of the emergency landing field.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a complete loss of engine power. The pilot reported that during descent he "felt the plane slow up quite quickly." He reported he verified the position of the engine controls, however he was unable to restore power. The pilot stated that he selected an emergency landing field. He noted: "After I cleared the tree line I put down my wheels and ten degrees of flaps. … I had to turn pretty sharply to avoid a large tree that was in the middle of the field. When I felt I had cleared the tree I straightened out the plane and pulled the nose up to flare. The plane did not seem to flare and hit the ground very hard. The landing gear collapsed upon impact and the plane slid on the ground." The pilot reported no malfunctions with the aircraft or engine prior to the loss of engine power. The post-accident examination of the aircraft recovered approximately 8 ounces of fuel from the fuel tanks. No fuel was present in the fuel line running from the firewall to the engine. The fuel tanks and lines appeared to be intact and no evidence of fuel leakage was observed. The pilot stated that he did not visually confirm the fuel level before flight. He reported referencing remaining fuel quantity from a fuel management computer installed in the aircraft. The operating manual for the fuel management computer stated: "[The fuel management computer] is a fuel flow measuring system and NOT a quantity-sensing device. A visual inspection and positive determination of the usable fuel in the fuel tanks is a necessity. Therefore, it is imperative that the determined available usable fuel be manually entered into the system."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.