N731NC

On May 19, 1996, at approximately 2020 eastern daylight time, a Cessna P210N, N731NC, lost engine power during the descent to Carroll County-Tolson Airport, in Carrollton, Ohio. During the emergency landing on a soft field, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane flipped over. There were minor injuries to the commercial pilot and two passengers and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane departed Flagler County Airport in Burnnell, Florida at approximately 1603 eastern daylight time and was en route to Portage County Airport, in Ravenna, Ohio, when the pilot requested a divert to the Carroll County-Tolson Airport. The pilot filed an IFR flight plan and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The pilot stated that the airplane had 89 gallons of 100 octane low lead aviation fuel in the tanks and he added two quarts of oil to the engine before he took off from Burnnell, Florida. The pilot stated that the flight proceeded as planned. In the pilot's written report on this accident there was no mention of winds at altitude, the airplanes ground speed, the fuel consumption rate, or figures calculated in order to make a continue or not continue decision as the flight progressed. The pilot stated that he elected to land at another airport which was within fifty miles of his original destination in order to refuel because the "fuel gauges were bouncing but the fuel computer indicated 12 gallons." A few miles from the airport that the pilot elected to go to, the engine lost power. The FAA inspector reported that the pilot and the two passengers stated that the airplane ran out of fuel. The pilot said he suspected a fuel quantity problem citing his airplane's bouncing fuel gauges and his fuel computer indicated 1/2 hour of fuel remaining. The FAA inspector's report stated that there was no indication of fuel in the tanks or on the ground at the accident site.