Cessna A185F N1795R

Summary

On 2 June 2012 at about 00:00 local time, a Cessna A185F registered N1795R was involved in an accident near Skwentna, Alaska, 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

2 June 2012 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Skwentna, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

60.0667, -150.8967

Aircraft

Cessna A185F

Registration

N1795R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Skwentna → Anchorage

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC12LA046

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power in cruise flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to follow the checklist after the loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot and one passenger departed from a lake on a personal cross country flight. During the pilot’s preflight check, he noted that the right wing fuel tank contained about 32 gallons of fuel, and the left wing fuel tank contained about 5 gallons of fuel. About 8 miles south of the departure lake, at an altitude of about 2,000 feet mean sea level, the airplane’s engine lost power. The pilot said that he turned on the fuel boost pump, and the engine rpm rose momentarily but dropped again. He stated that he did not recall checking the fuel selector valve as part of his emergency restart procedures. He executed a forced landing in a marsh. The pilot stated that he always operated the airplane with the fuel selector valve in the “Both Tanks On” position; however, a postaccident inspection of the airplane revealed that the airplane’s fuel selector valve was in the “Left Tank Only” position. A postaccident engine run revealed no mechanical anomalies with the engine, and it operated normally at all power settings. An annual inspection of the airplane was completed on May 20, 2012, and the airplane had flown approximately four hours since the inspection. Both the normal “Before Takeoff” and the “Emergency Landing without Engine Power” checklists direct the pilot to check the fuel selector valve position. Given the lack of mechanical deficiencies with the airplane's engine and the discovery of the fuel selector valve in the “Left Tank Only” position, it is likely that the pilot did not check the fuel selector valve either during his preflight or after the loss of engine power. Considering the amount of fuel noted in the left wing fuel tank during the pilot’s preflight, it is also likely that the engine lost power due to fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.