Cessna 180 N4611U

Summary

On 4 November 2015 at about 22:45 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N4611U was involved in an accident near Haines, Alaska, United States. 4 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 3 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

4 November 2015 at 22:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Haines, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Haines (HNS)

Coordinates

58.9017, -135.1525

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N4611U

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Juneau → Haines

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC16LA005

1 person was seriously injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence and the pilot’s decision to continue the flight after realizing the remaining fuel quantity was near 0.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot departed for the personal cross-country flight in the wheel-equipped, single-engine airplane over an area of inland fjords, coastal waterways, and steep mountainous terrain. The pilot estimated that the fuel quantity at departure was about 53 gallons, which should have been sufficient fuel for about 4 hours 40 minutes of flight; the flight was expected to be 1 hour long. The pilot stated that the fuel quantity gauges showed about 48 gallons remaining at departure. However, shortly after takeoff and while en route, both fuel gauges dropped to 0, but the pilot chose to continue to his destination. As the flight neared the destination airport, the engine lost total power, and the pilot's attempts to restore power using the emergency engine restart procedures failed. The pilot was subsequently forced to ditch the airplane in the ocean, and the four occupants swam to shore. The airplane later sank in deep ocean water and was not recovered. Given the pilot's statement about the fuel on board at departure, it is likely that that the fuel system was compromised forward of the firewall. However, because the airplane could not be examined, the reason for the fuel exhaustion could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.