Cessna TU206F N338F

Summary

On 31 August 2011 at about 04:45 local time, a Cessna TU206F registered N338F, operated by Ellis Charles T Trustee, was involved in an accident near Bremerton, Washington, 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

31 August 2011 at 04:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Bremerton, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.5514, -122.7050

Aircraft

Cessna TU206F

Registration

N338F

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Ellis Charles T Trustee

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Helena → Seattle

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR11CA419

1 person had minor injuries.

The total loss of engine power as a result of fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he began the cross-country flight with 4 hours of fuel onboard for the estimated 3-hour flight. While over an airport along the route of flight, he found that the headwind was much stronger than forecast. He calculated that he had 1 hour of fuel remaining and that the remaining flight time to his destination was 30 minutes. As he approached his destination, he was receiving vectors from an air traffic controller when the airplane’s engine sputtered and stopped producing power. The pilot successfully restarted the engine. However, it soon stopped producing power again and would not restart. In the dark night, he performed a forced landing to a small opening in the trees. The first rescue personnel on scene reported that they did not detect the smell of aviation fuel and the pilot reported to rescuers that “he believed he had run out of fuel and that the engine just quit on him.” The airplane’s fuselage was bent upwards immediately behind the cabin area, and both wings were bent and wrinkled.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.