Probable cause
The total loss of dual engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel planning.
NTSB analysis
Witnesses reported that the airplane departed a private airstrip and the engine or engines were running "rough or misfiring" before the engines "went silent" and the airplane impacted a ravine. The on-site examination of the airplane found that the left auxiliary and main fuel tanks contained about three gallons of fuel each, and that the right auxiliary and main fuel tanks contained less than a gallon total. The position of the fuel valves prior to impact could not be determined. The front fuel strainer/gascolator was found submerged and filled with water and the rear strainer/gascolator was found empty. The airframe and engine examinations did not reveal any abnormalities that would have prevented normal operation. Witnesses reported that the pilot was flying to another airport to refuel the airplane.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN09FA230 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Mar 27, 2009
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Highest injury
- Fatal
- Fatal injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Night, dark
Cessna 337C
- N-number
- N373E
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.