Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and decision-making, which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors to the accident were the fuel exhaustion and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On May 22, 2004, at 0950 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182E, N2852Y, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during a forced landing at Dona Ana County at Santa Teresa Airport (5T6), Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The commercial certificated pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The flight originated at approximately 0915.
According to an FAA inspector, the pilot stated that he completed an air drop of skydivers at 14,000 feet and was returning to land. During the descent, the engine quit. The pilot initially thought it was due to carburetor ice, but then realized that he had run "out of fuel." The pilot was forced to land the airplane short of the runway. The airplane impacted terrain collapsing the nose landing gear and buckling the firewall.
The pilot did not report this accident until May 25, 2004, and did not provide a Pilot Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB form 6120.1/2) for this accident. The condition of the airplane and the continuity if its systems, prior to the accident, could not be confirmed.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# DEN04LA077