Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Watertown, Minnesota 55388
Friday, May 10, 2002 21:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While descending into the intended destination there was a total loss of engine power. The pilot reported that he was unable to restore engine power and performed a forced landing into a soft field. During the landing the nose gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported that the airplane was completely fueled prior to the initial flight of the day and he had flown approximately 3.6 hours since the last fueling. The pilot told a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, "... he [the pilot] forgot to switch the fuel selector to the other tank." Subsequent to the accident approximately 5 gallons of aviation fuel was drained from the right wing fuel tank and there was evidence of a fuel spill around the accident site.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The improper fuel management by the pilot which resulted in fuel starvation and subsequent loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the soft terrain in which the forced landing was completed.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/10/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2100
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Watertown
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55388
Event Date Year 2002
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 Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1953 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 136
Weather Observation Facility ID FCM
Elevation of weather observation facility 906
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 62
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height 9500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.25
Density Altitude (feet) 356
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
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 --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12333
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 10 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2220
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 24 2002 3:20PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA - Minneapolis FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N357TC
NTSB Number CHI02LA129
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 210M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 21062456
Certified Max Gross Weight 3800
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 30 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 45.5
Airframe Hours 6302.4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Twin City Cloud 7 Inc
Aircraft Owner Street Address 14390 Raymond Ln
Aircraft Owner City Eden Prairie
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55347
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State MN
Operator Country USA
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 MOX
Departure City Morris
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1800
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code FCM
Destination City Minneapolis
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency descent/landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 17 2002 4:03PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
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 --