Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Boca Raton, Florida 33427
Friday, January 25, 2002 13:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he did not visually check his fuel quantity level during his preflight walk around inspection, and about 15 minutes into his flight he sustained a loss of engine power. He conducted a forced landing on the Florida Turnpike, and during landing rollout, the left wing collided with a road sign, causing structural damage. The wing fuel tanks were not compromised during the collision, and there was no spillage. The FAA reported that 2.5 gallons was the total fuel load aboard at the time of the accident. The 2.5 gallon quantity was substantiated by the salvage crew when the wings were removed. The Cessna 182L type certificate data sheets state that 30 pounds or 5.11 gallons is the fuel system's unusable amount. The engine started normally and operated smoothly to 2,000 rpm, with NTSB oversight, 13 days later.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to perform a proper preflight inspection and refueling of the aircraft, resulting in an in-flight loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and a collision with a road sign during the emergency landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/25/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1315
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Boca Raton
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33427
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 1
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PMP
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions --
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11571
NTSB Notification Source FAA FSDO Ft. Lauderdale
NTSB Notification Date Jan 25 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1645
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2002 10:18AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Ft. Lauderdale

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N182JM
NTSB Number MIA02LA053
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire --
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182L
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18259187
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Aug 28 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 24
Airframe Hours 3592
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Aerolease of America, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2533 N. Carson St. Ste. 4468
Aircraft Owner City Carson City
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89706
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 PMP
Departure City Pompano
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code FD38
Destination City Wellington
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 29 2002 10:42AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --