Cessna P210 N4842K accident near Delaware, Ohio

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction of the formation flight.

NTSB analysis

The pilot departed the airport to rejoin and fly in formation with a vintage airplane. After the airplane rejoined the formation, the engine lost total power; the pilot made a forced landing, during which the airplane nosed over and sustained damage to the vertical stabilizer. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal flight operations. Downloaded engine data revealed a rapid drop of fuel flow and decrease in engine rpm that were consistent with fuel starvation.

The pilot attributed the power loss to "running the right tank out of fuel" after not switching the fuel selector from right to left fuel tank, as he had initially planned, during the flight. The pilot stated the high engine power setting he used to rejoin with the vintage airplane was a fuel planning consideration for which he had not accounted and that his preflight and in-flight fuel planning routines were rushed because of his desire to rejoin the formation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN18LA351 for the full record.