Rancho Murieta Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rancho Murieta, California 95683
Wednesday, July 7, 2010 22:42 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that when he was about 7 miles from his intended destination the engine began to run rough and lost all power about one minute later. He unsuccessfully attempted to restart the engine multiple times. The pilot decided to try to land at a closer airport but realized he would not be able to make it to that airport, either, so he elected to land in an open field. During landing the airplane bounced and the right wing collided with a tree, which spun the airplane around. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. Local fire department first responders reported that when they arrived on scene there were no fuel leaks and there was no odor of fuel present on-scene. They attempted to drain fuel from the sump but no fuel came out. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane and reported that there was no fuel at the selector valve or in the wing tanks. The pilot stated that "... adding additional fuel in excess of [the] perceived minimum fuel level would likely have avoided [the] power loss...."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of engine power in flight due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel planning.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/7/2010
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 2242
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Rancho Murieta
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95683
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 382913N
Event Location Longitude 1210610W
Event Location Airport Rancho Murieta
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KRIU
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2245 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KMHR
Elevation of weather observation facility 99
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Night
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) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.83
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) 27263
NTSB Notification Source FAA AWP Regional Operations Ce
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 3 2010 7:54PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8793U
NTSB Number WPR10CA311
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172F
Aircraft Series Identifier F
Aircraft Serial Number 17252698
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Jul 2 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 3
Airframe Hours 6844
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Low Flying Angels, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5000 San Juan Ave
Aircraft Owner City Fair Oaks
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95628
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Low Flying Angels, Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 5000 San Juan Ave
Operator City Fair Oaks
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 95628
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 KHJO
Departure City Hanford
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2100
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KMHR
Destination City Sacramento
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 3 2010 7:54PM
User who most recently changed record stam
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 --