Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
Tuesady, April 11, 2006 13:30 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Prior to departure, the pilot estimated the airplane's fuel tanks contained approximately 70 gallons of fuel, and he planned a usage of 50 gallons for flight. While in cruise flight at 10,500 feet, the pilot encountered light and occasional moderate turbulence. Because of the turbulence, the pilot reduced the engine power several times to slow the aircraft. At least three times during the flight, the pilot lowered the landing gear to slow the aircraft and to increase stability. While en route at an altitude of 8,500 feet, the engine lost power. The pilot noticed on the fuel gauges that the right tank appeared empty and the left tank indicated more than 1/4 tank of fuel. The pilot switched the fuel selector to the left tank and the engine regained power. The pilot then decided to land at a nearby airport to add some fuel, check the magnetos and ground run the engine before continuing to his intended destination. Approximately 9 miles from the airport, the pilot lowered the landing gear and initiated a descent to the airport's pattern altitude. During the descent, the engine "faltered and surged" 4 to 5 times. The pilot then trimmed the airplane for a 60 knot glide speed, declared an emergency on UNICOM frequency and attempted a landing to the nearest runway. Shortly thereafter, the engine lost power, and the pilot initiated a forced landing to a field. During the forced landing, the airplane contacted a fence and a berm, and the nose gear collapsed, buckling the firewall. According to the recovery personnel, less than 1 gallon of fuel was recovered from the wing tanks and airframe fuel lines. The fuel sending units were removed from the wings and functionally tested. A functional check of the sending units and cockpit fuel gauges revealed no anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors were the pilot's improper preflight planning, the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane, and the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/11/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1330 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Fort Collins |
| Event State | COLORADO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 80524 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 403518N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1050230W |
| 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 | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| 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) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -5 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 330 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.87 |
| 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) | 20159 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-Northwest Mountain Region |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 11 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 29 2006 3:49PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Denver, Colorado |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N729SC |
| NTSB Number | DEN06LA059 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | TR182 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | R18200750 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2100 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3954 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Charles Ksir |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2068 N. 17th St. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Laramie |
| Aircraft Owner State | WY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 82072 |
| 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 | CNM |
| Departure City | CARLSBAD |
| Departure State | NM |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 925 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | LAR |
| Destination City | LARAMIE |
| Destination State | WY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 1 2006 11:45AM |
| User who most recently changed record | BOWL |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |