Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Goodyear, Arizona 85338
Sunday, February 1, 2004 11:00 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane experienced a forced landing after a loss of power due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot stated that they had departed Burbank, California, en route to Gila Bend, Arizona, where they were going to refuel. The pilot reported to FAA inspectors that he had fueled the airplane to it's 90-gallon capacity the day before the accident and had flown the airplane for 1 hour after that. During the accident flight, the pilot had used a richer mixture to aid in cooling one cylinder. He told the inspector that this may have led to a miscalculation of the fuel consumption during the flight. As the flight neared the vacinity of Gila Bend, the pilot contacted Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and reported a low fuel situation and that he was going to land at Gila Bend for fuel. The controller contacted the Gila Bend airport and determined that there was no fuel available there and suggested that the pilot should divert to another airport. They then headed towards Buckeye Municipal Airport, but were later notified by ARTCC that Buckeye also did not have fuel. At this time they diverted to the Phoenix Goodyear Airport and advised the tower that they were low on fuel and coming in to land. As they approached the airport, the pilot switched fuel tanks but the airplane exhibited signs of fuel exhaustion. The engine lost power, and the pilot landed in a plowed field about 1 mile from the airport. Post accident inspection by FAA inspectors found no fuel onboard the airplane. All fuel lines and tanks were intact. The inspectors found no evidence of a fuel leak. According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook, the Cessna T210L has a fuel capacity of 90 gallons; .5 gallons are unusable on each side. According to the engine's manufacturer, the average fuel burn is about 18 gallons per hour at 75 percent horsepower.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate fuel consumption calculations and in-flight planning/decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/1/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1100 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Goodyear |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85338 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 332500N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1122200W |
| 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 | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1056 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 90 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PHX |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1103 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 18 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| 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) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 887 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17004 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 1 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1100 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 28 2004 12:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-SDL-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2234S |
| NTSB Number | LAX04LA111 |
| 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 | T210L |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 21061179 |
| 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 | -- |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2406 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Thomas J. Frith-Smith |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Burbank |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 91504 |
| 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 | BUR |
| Departure City | Burbank |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | GYR |
| Destination City | Goodyear |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 6 2004 11:47AM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |