Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Madera, California 96119
Sunday, October 29, 1995 19:25 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he was in level cruise when the engine surged several times, then quit. The aircraft was headed toward the Madera airport; however, insufficient altitude remained to reach the runway. The pilot made a forced landing in an almond orchard. Records revealed that the pilot flew 5.6 hours during the trip from Modesto to Redlands and then to the accident site. Fueling records disclosed that the pilot purchased 12.6 gallons of 100LL aviation gasoline from Redlands Aviation just prior to departure. An examination revealed that the left fuel tank was compromised in the accident, but the right fuel tank was intact. The fuel selector was positioned to the right tank, which contained only residual fuel. No fuel was found in the fuel inlet line to the servo. No fuel was found in the distributor manifold. The engine starter drive was engaged into the starter ring. No engine discrepancies were found.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's improper preflight planning and failure to ensure that adequate fuel was onboard to complete the flight. Darkness was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/29/1995
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1925
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City MADERA
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96119
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1856 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 140
Weather Observation Facility ID FAT
Elevation of weather observation facility 333
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Night/Bright
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 12
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 4
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1783
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 29 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2210
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:40PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4110C
NTSB Number LAX96LA029
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 177RG
Aircraft Series Identifier 177RG
Aircraft Serial Number 1770588
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 1 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40
Airframe Hours 1570
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name 177RG COMPANY
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1314 CENTER DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City MEDFORD
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97501
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name DOSUNG KIM
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2008 ELWIN WAY
Operator City MODESTO
Operator State CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 95350
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code L12
Departure City REDLANDS
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MOD
Destination City MODESTO
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --