Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Santa Clarita, California 91310
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 17:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Prior to the flight, the pilot visually checked the fuel quantity in the fuel tanks and the left fuel tank fuel quantity was within one inch from the filler neck, and the right fuel tank appeared to be half full. As the flight neared the area of the accident site, both the pilot and passenger observed the right fuel gauge indicate zero, followed by the left. While attempting to maneuver around clouds to descend to an airport the pilot saw beneath the clouds, the engine started to sputter. The pilot switched the fuel selector from the both position to the left fuel tank and the engine stopped almost immediately. He then switched to the right fuel tank, but the engine did not restart. The pilot initiated a forced landing onto a road, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane's wings and horizontal stabilizer. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector revealed no fuel in either fuel tank and about 1/2 cup of fuel was drained from the fuel strainer. The FAA inspector also observed a placard on the instrument panel which stated "... [the] Tuned Exhaust System installed on this aircraft may cause the aircraft to burn more fuel at certain power settings. It is the Pilot's responsibility to determine what, if any, change in fuel flow exists and to plan accordingly."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight verification of the fuel quantity and his inadequate fuel consumption calculations, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/8/2011
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Santa Clarita
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 91310
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 342514N
Event Location Longitude 1183105W
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1751 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID VNY
Elevation of weather observation facility 802
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
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) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KVNY 090051Z 17007KT 10SM OVC031 18/12 A2997 RMK A
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) 28732
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 14 2011 11:28AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2301Y
NTSB Number WPR11LA254
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 17700101
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 Feb 9 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3264
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name SHAWNEE PARTNERS LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City LACONIA
Aircraft Owner State NH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 03247
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Kashif Khursheed
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Canoga Park
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 91303
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 SBP
Departure City San Luis Obispo
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code VNY
Destination City Van Nuys
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 17 2011 4:13PM
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 --