Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001
Sunday, June 6, 1999 11:10 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot topped-off the airplane's fuel tanks on Friday, June 4, 1999. He said that on Saturday, June 5, he flew the airplane for a 'short hop' (an undetermined time). The pilot said that, on the day of the accident, he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane, but did not remove the fuel caps and look into the fuel tanks. He last calculated the fuel remaining over Fort Morgan, Colorado, and determined that he had been airborne for 4.4 hours, and had 1 hour of flight to reach Cheyenne. The pilot radioed the Cheyenne Airport tower that he was on 'short final to runway 26, was low on fuel, and was not going to make it.' The engine lost power approximately 1.5 nm from the approach end of runway 26. The pilot performed a forced landing on a motor cross track. Postaccident examination of the airplane found the fuel tanks were empty. Due to lack of information of the first flight, accurate flight endurance could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate flight planning, and lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing. Factor's were the pilot's inadequate aircraft preflight, and the subsequent engine power loss due to fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/6/1999
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1110
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City CHEYENNE
Event State WYOMING
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 82001
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 6
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 1121 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID CYS
Elevation of weather observation facility 6156
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4600
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 23
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 43
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 7676
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) 805
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 7 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 621
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:38AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2637V
NTSB Number DEN99LA096
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 177RG0637
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class Unknown
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 Sep 15 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4577
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DAVID C. FEARIS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 113 PENSACOLA
Aircraft Owner City WAXAHACHIE
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 75165
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 4T6
Departure City WAXAHACHIE
Departure State TX
Departure Country
Departure Time 545
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CYS
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
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 --