Cessna 182A N4810D

Summary

On 10 April 2011 at about 19:10 local time, a Cessna 182A registered N4810D, operated by Paul Nadas, was involved in an accident near Lesage, West Virginia, 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

10 April 2011 at 19:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Lesage, West Virginia, United States

Coordinates

38.4617, -82.3139

Aircraft

Cessna 182A

Registration

N4810D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Paul Nadas

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Huntington → Huntington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11CA237

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the improper installation of snap fasteners to the rubberized type fuel cells which resulted in wrinkling of the fuel bladders and incorrect fuel quantity for the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot flew four skydiving flights without refueling. On the last flight, after the skydivers exited the airplane, the pilot initiated a descent and the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot knew he could not make it back to the airport and made a forced landing to a gravel area. The airplane collided with a gravel mound and nosed over resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. According to the pilot, the airplane owner assisted him in fueling the airplane from a local fuel truck. The pilot said he used a ladder and started refueling the right wing with the owner manning the pump. While they were refueling the airplane, the owner asked the pilot if he was getting any fuel because the fuel meter was not running. They looked at the airplane's right main fuel tank and it appeared to be full. The pilot then added what he believed to be 10 gallons of fuel to the left main fuel tank. The pilot thought he had 37.5 gallons of fuel on board when he departed. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any. The examination also did not reveal any evidence of usable fuel. Additionally, examination of the airplane rubberized bladder type fuel cells located on the inboard bay of each wing panel revealed the snap fasteners normally used to prevent the collapse of the flexible cells were not installed and wrinkling of the bladder was noted. The fuel bladders were replaced about 5 years prior to the accident. It is possible that due to the wrinkling of the right fuel bladder, the pilot may not have had the fuel that he expected when the tank was topped off.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.