Cessna 182K N2548R

Summary

On 18 March 2021 at about 23:15 local time, a Cessna 182K registered N2548R was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, Nevada, 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

18 March 2021 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

North Las Vegas (VGT)

Coordinates

36.2160, -115.2044

Aircraft

Cessna 182K

Registration

N2548R

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sandy Valley → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR21LA184

Nobody was injured.

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 pilot verified that the airplane contained 26 gallons of fuel, divided evenly between the two wing tanks, and did not observe any evidence of a fuel leak prior to departing on the 30-minute flight. During the flight, he observed the fuel quantity decrease until the indicators showed less than 3.25 gallons per side when he was about 2 nautical miles from his destination. During the landing approach, the engine lost all power, and the pilot completed a forced landing on a dirt area about 500 ft short of the runway, during which the fuselage sustained substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed no preaccident anomalies and no breaches or obstructions to the fuel system. The pilot stated that, after he landed, he observed a slow leak from the low sump drain downstream of the fuel selector. This may have contributed to some fuel loss in flight; however, the estimated leak rate suggests that the leak is not likely to have drained the fuel tanks while inflight. It is also unclear when the leak began and what the initial leak rate was, as the pilot reported that he did not observe any fuel leaks during his two walkaround inspections before takeoff. Airport personnel who recovered the airplane after the accident reported that the airplane leaked about 1 quart of fuel before its removal from the accident site, and less than 1 gallon following its recovery. When visually examined the evening of the accident, both of the wing fuel tanks were dry. It is likely that the loss of engine power was the result of fuel exhaustion; however, whether the engine’s fuel consumption was increased, or the airplane was leaking fuel during the accident flight could not be determined due to a lack of available evidence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.