Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Corona, California 90720
Monday, May 19, 1997 12:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Upon arrival in the destination area, the pilot was unable to identify his intended airport because of low clouds and haze. He decided to check the weather at the some other airports in the area, but after he had flown a few miles, his engine began to sputter. He switched his fuel selector and rocked the wings but the engine stopped completely within a few moments. The pilot stated that he had been flying by pilotage and dead reckoning and did not have any onboard navigation equipment. He had neither estimated his time en route nor performed any over the ground speed checks. An inspection revealed both tanks contained only residual fuel. The pilot was unable to produce a fuel receipt for his last fuel purchase. There was no pilot operator's handbook (POH) onboard the aircraft and the pilot had not performed any fuel consumption calculations.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's failure to perform either preflight or en route fuel consumption calculations. The pilot's decision to fly the aircraft without the required pilot's operating handbook (POH) on board was a factor in this accident.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/19/1997
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City CORONA
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 90720
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 5
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 1146 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID CNO
Elevation of weather observation facility 650
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 3
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 6
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 None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1179
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 19 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1505
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:17PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3165S
NTSB Number LAX97LA184
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 182G
Aircraft Series Identifier 182G
Aircraft Serial Number 18255665
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 28 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 97
Airframe Hours 5852
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERT J. CULLEN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1907-A AVIATION DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City CORONA
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 90720
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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 SDM
Departure City SAN DIEGO
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code L66
Destination City
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
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 --