ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 173002
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Wednesday 14 January 2015 |
| Time: | 09:15 |
| Type: |  Cessna 210J Centurion |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N3320S |
| MSN: | 21059120 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1969 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3689 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental IO 520 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Near Dodge City Regional Airport (KDDC), Dodge City, Kansas -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Wellington, KS (EGT) |
| Dodge City, KS (DDC) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The private pilot reported that he departed on a 1-hour cross-country flight with the fuel tank gauges showing about 1/4 tank each. The left fuel tank was selected at takeoff. After 20 minutes of flight, the pilot switched to the right fuel tank and noticed that the right fuel tank gauge dropped unusually fast to near empty. The pilot then selected the left fuel tank and entered a left downwind to his destination airport. Upon turning onto the base leg, the engine lost power. The pilot’s attempts to restart the engine were not successful. The pilot conducted a forced landing, and the airplane impacted the ground about 1 mile from the destination airport.
Examination of the airplane wreckage showed the fuel selector valve was positioned to the left wing tank. The three-bladed propeller blades were bent upward from impact but did not show curling or twisting, indicating that the engine was not producing power at impact. The airframe gascolator had just enough fuel to fill the bowl, and no fuel came out of the fuel feeder line. Neither wing tank contained any fuel. A certificated aircraft mechanic from a nearby airport who had arrived within 15 minutes of the accident reported that he did not smell aviation gasoline in the air or on the ground.
The pilot reported that more accurate fuel management and awareness would have prevented the accident. He stated that the flight hours in his pilot log indicated that he had enough fuel for the flight after his most recent top-off refueling but that he likely had flown the airplane 20 to 30 minutes more than his pilot logs indicated. He stated that fuel tanks should be visually inspected before flight.
Probable Cause: The loss of engine power on approach due to fuel exhaustion, which resulted from the pilot's improper preflight fuel planning and inspection.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=3320S
Location
Media:
#BREAKING Plane crashes near Dodge City. 3 ppl on board. No one hurt according to @kshighwaypatrol pic.twitter.com/mhK061vRpq
— KWCH Eyewitness News (@KWCH12) January 14, 2015Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Jan-2015 19:54 | gerard57 | Added |
| 14-Jan-2015 19:55 | harro | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 15-Jan-2015 05:44 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 05-Nov-2017 08:46 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation