Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tuckerman, Arkansas 72473
Thursday, May 2, 2002 16:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While in cruise flight, approximately two hours and ten minutes after departure, the engine lost power, and the pilot was unable to restart the engine. During the forced landing, the airplane touched down in a rice field. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear impacted a levee, and the airplane nosed over coming to rest inverted. Earlier in the day during a fuel stop, an individual loaned the pilot a pair of needle nose pliers after the pilot stated that the locking tabs were broken from the cap on the left main fuel tank. The individual suggested to the pilot that he purchase a new fuel cap; however, the pilot did not purchase one. At the departure airport, ground personnel reported to the pilot that the left main tank had a "bad fuel leak." After fueling the airplane, the pilot duct taped the left main fuel tank filler cap. An examination of the fuel system by an FAA inspector revealed that the left fuel filler cap was loose and its clip was broken. No fuel was found in either tank, and there was no evidence of a fuel spill; however, there was blue streaking from the left fuel tank filler port.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's operation of the airplane with a known equipment deficiency, which resulted in fuel leakage and a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A contributing factors was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/2/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1645
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Tuckerman
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72473
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 354337N
Event Location Longitude 0911434W
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 1653 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 70
Weather Observation Facility ID JBR
Elevation of weather observation facility 262
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 28
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2200
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.89
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13979
NTSB Notification Source Little Rock FSDO
NTSB Notification Date May 3 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1012
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 30 2003 9:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock, Arkansas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3146S
NTSB Number FTW02LA137
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182G
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18255646
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 Apr 27 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 3495.6
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Silver Air, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3511 Silverside Rd, Suite 105
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Silverwing Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address Searcy Municipal Airport
Operator City Searcy
Operator State AR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 72143
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 FLV
Departure City Leavenworth
Departure State KS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code M19
Destination City Newport
Destination State CT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jul 22 2003 9:08AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
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 --