Cessna 180 N24227

Summary

On 15 November 2022 at about 13:53 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N24227, operated by Dashiell Ross R, was involved in an accident near Kahlotus, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 November 2022 at 13:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Kahlotus, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Hackney (S61)

Coordinates

46.7224, -118.5878

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N24227

Category

Airplane

Year built

1955

Engines

1

Operator

Dashiell Ross R

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

S61 → Eltopia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23LA042

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to check the fuel selector position before takeoff and his improper fuel management, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power. Also causal was the pilot’s loss of airplane control which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, his mechanic had just completed an annual inspection on the airplane, and he was flying it home. While en route at 1,000 ft above ground level, the engine experienced a total loss of power. During the forced landing to a road, the airplane stalled about 40 ft above ground level and impacted the ground hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the upper fuselage. After the accident, the pilot learned that the mechanic had moved the fuel selector from the BOTH position to the LEFT position. The pilot further reported that he did not check the fuel selector position before takeoff. A postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuel selector was in the LEFT tank position. The left fuel tank was nearly empty of fuel, and the right fuel tank was full. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and attributed the power loss to fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.