Benton Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Redding, California 96001
Friday, July 13, 2007 12:45 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The personal cross-country flight departed from Arlington, Washington, and briefly stopped in Grants Pass, Oregon, departing about 1100 for a final destination of Redding. While on a 2.5-mile final approach to the destination airport, the engine experienced a loss of engine power and the pilot performed an emergency landing in a field. The airplane collided with a berm during the landing roll. Just prior to the loss of power, the right fuel tank was empty and the left fuel tank had about 6 gallons of fuel remaining; the fuel selector was positioned on the "both" selection. According to the airplane's Owner's Manual, 5 gallons of fuel is unusable per tank in non-level flight. The pilot did not refuel while en route.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision concerning fuel system management and his failure to refuel while en route.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/13/2007
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1245
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Redding
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96001
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 403429N
Event Location Longitude 1222429W
Event Location Airport Benton Field Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID O85
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2.2
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 719
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 130
Weather Observation Facility ID RDD
Elevation of weather observation facility 505
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 7
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.01
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23139
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 13 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2008 11:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SAC-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5248D
NTSB Number LAX07LA216
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 180A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 50146
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 31.8
Airframe Hours 3335.8
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James C. Barry
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Redding
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 96001
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 3S8
Departure City Grants Pass
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code O85
Destination City Redding
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2008 5:12PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
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 --