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| Date: | Saturday 3 September 2022 |
| Time: | 15:00 |
| Type: |  Cessna 180 Skywagon |
| Owner/operator: | Skycavu Inc |
| Registration: | N3135D |
| MSN: | 31933 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1955 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Seeley Lake Airport (23S), Seeley Lake, MT -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Longmont-Vance Brand Airport, CO (KLMO) |
| Seeley Lake Airport, MT (23S) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On September 3, 2022, about 1500 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 180, N3135D was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Seeley Lake, Montana. The pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The accident pilot reported that he had topped the airplane off with fuel before departure. Following an uneventful flight, the pilot began a descent to the airport traffic pattern and enrichened the mixture and applied carburetor heat. While on the downwind for the runway, he noted that he had about 10.5 to 11 gallons of fuel remaining. The pilot conducted a low approach by descending over the runway using an intermediate power setting to inspect the runway for wildlife. As the pilot initiated a climb and turned onto the left crosswind leg, the engine lost all power about 300 ft above ground level, and he initiated a forced landing to a nearby clearing. Subsequently, the airplane impacted trees and came to rest in a nose-low attitude.
Examination of the recovered airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preexisting mechanical malfunction that would have precluded normal operation.
The reported fuel level would have placed the fuel levels in both fuel tanks below 1/4 tank, which would prohibit takeoff according to the airplane owner’s manual. It’s likely that following the low pass over the runway, with the application of power and a climbing turn, the fuel was unported and interrupted the fuel delivery to the engine, which resulted in a loss of engine power.
Probable Cause: The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of unporting of the fuel.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.seeleylake.com/story/2022/09/08/news/two-injured-in-plane-crash/8852.html
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N3135D
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105889
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a35501&lat=43.271&lon=-110.308&zoom=7.0&showTrace=2022-09-03&leg=2
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/4/77085_1330536791.jpg (photo)
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Sep-2022 22:40 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 07-Sep-2022 23:09 | RobertMB | Updated [Date, Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 07-Sep-2022 23:59 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 08-Sep-2022 07:21 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 08-Sep-2024 21:05 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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