N357HT

On October 1, 2023, about 1302 central standard time, a Cessna 182R airplane, N357HT, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Olathe, Kansas. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot entered the traffic pattern at Johnson County Airport (OJC), Olathe, Kansas, checked that the mixture was full rich, and advanced the propeller to high rpm. When he turned onto final approach, he added engine power because he was too low; however, there was no engine response to his throttle input, and the airplane continued to descend. The airplane touched down just short of the runway, flipped over when the nosewheel contacted the approach end of the runway surface, and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, vertical stabilizer, and engine mount.

In an initial phone interview with the pilot, he stated that he sumped the fuel tanks at Newton City Airport (EWK), Newton, Kansas before departing for OJC, but did not check the amount of fuel in each tank. Later, when the pilot filled out the NTSB Form 6120.1, he stated that he had 70 gallons of fuel on board the airplane. He also said that prior to leaving EWK, he refueled with 20 gallons of fuel (10 gallons per side.) An email from the airport manager at EWK confirmed that the airplane was filled with 20 gallons of fuel (10 each side).

During recovery, the fuel tanks were drained; the right tank had 45 gallons, and the left tank had none. There were no breaches in the fuel tanks or fuel leaking onto the runway. According to the airplane manufacturer’s pilot operating handbook, each fuel tank holds 46 gallons of fuel, and 44 gallons is usable fuel for a total of 88 gallons of useable fuel. The pilot stated that he turned the fuel selector valve to the off position after the accident, so fuel selector valve position before the accident could not be verified.

According to ADS-B data, the flight from EWK to OJC was about 1 hour long. Performance charts from the Cessna 182R pilot operating handbook were utilized to determine fuel burn for the flight.