Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Hilton Head Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bluffton, South Carolina 29910
Friday, October 10, 2008 18:13 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot of a Cessna 177 stated that he planned to fly about 4 hours and 15 minutes without refueling. He estimated the airplane would consume about 8 gallons-per-hour, resulting in a total consumption of 34.4 gallons of fuel, which would leave 13.6 gallons remaining in the 48-gallon fuel system. About 4 hours into the flight, on approach to the destination airport, while flying at 1,300 feet above mean sea level, the engine "sputtered." He turned on the auxiliary fuel pump and subsequently the engine quit. While on the final leg of the approach, the airplane collided with power lines, a tree, and then impacted the ground, damaging the firewall. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the wreckage and stated that the left wing spar was also damaged. The left fuel tank was breeched and the right fuel tank remained intact, but there was no evidence of fuel in the tank or near the accident site. In a written statement by the air traffic controller providing radar service to the accident flight, the pilot stated that he was "out of fuel." Prior to departure, the pilot requested the fuel tanks be "topped off;" however, he did not inspect the fuel tanks during his preflight inspection to verify they were full. The fixed base operator reported that they put 36.4 gallons of fuel into the airplane. About 90 minutes into flight, the pilot increased the mixture to "rich" to alleviate a rough running engine. Prior to the accident flight, the pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate planning and preflight inspection.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/10/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1813 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Bluffton |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29910 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 321321N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0804910W |
| Event Location Airport | Hilton Head Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | HXD |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 7 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 19 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1828 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 90 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HXD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 19 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 800 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 9 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| 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) | 30.03 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 24738 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern Region ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 22 2009 8:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | grol |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3495T |
| NTSB Number | ERA09CA012 |
| 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 | 177 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17700795 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2350 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 5 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3300 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Timothy and Darren Carrier |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Waynesville |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 45068 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Darren Carrier |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Beavercreek |
| Operator State | OH |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 45430 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | MGY |
| Departure City | Dayton |
| Departure State | OH |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1400 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | HXD |
| Destination City | Hilton Head |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2008 10:16AM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |