Cessna 182A N5143D

Summary

On 14 June 2015 at about 01:00 local time, a Cessna 182A registered N5143D, operated by Skydive Canyonlands, was involved in an accident near Moab, Utah, 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

14 June 2015 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Moab, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Canyonlands Field (CNY)

Coordinates

38.7550, -109.7547

Aircraft

Cessna 182A

Registration

N5143D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1958

Engines

1

Operator

Skydive Canyonlands

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moab → Moab

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR15LA185

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel planning and inflight fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. 

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that he maneuvered back toward the airport to land after dropping skydivers. During the approach for landing, about 1,000 ft above the airport, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot was unable to restart the engine and subsequently initiated a forced landing to the desert floor. The airplane departed with about 14 gallons of fuel on board, and the flight was about 30 to 35 minutes in duration. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the right wing fuel tank contained about 5 gallons of fuel, and the left wing fuel tank contained about 3 gallons. According to the airplane's operating limitations, 10 gallons of fuel is unusable in all flight attitudes (5 gallons per tank). Given a fuel consumption rate of about 12 gallons per hour and the fuel found in the wing tanks after the accident, it is likely that the loss of engine power was the result of fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.