Cessna T210 N210HH accident near New Braunfels, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and fuel planning, which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB analysis

The pilot stated that he had performed a "standard" preflight check before departing for the 1.5-hour cross-country flight. He reported that he checked the fuel gauges and visually inspected the fuel levels in the tanks and estimated the airplane had about 70 gallons of fuel for the flight. Near the conclusion of the flight, the pilot was given a clearance to climb in preparation for an instrument approach to the destination airport. During the climb, the pilot noticed that the airspeed was bleeding off and the engine was not producing power. After descending below clouds, the pilot decided to land in a field at the end of a lake. However, the pilot realized that the airplane would not reach the field, and he elected to conduct a forced landing on the water, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe.

Postaccident examination of the fuel tanks revealed some fuel remained, but when the fuel manifold was disassembled, no fuel was observed under its diaphragm. Recovery personnel dried the magnetos and plumbed a fuel can to the airplane for a test run of the engine, which was successful.

The airplane’s fuel tanks were topped off about 3.5 flight hours before the accident flight departed; no fuel had been added since that time. With full tanks, the accident airplane’s expected endurance was about 4.8 hours of flight time. Thus, it is likely that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion.

Given the available information, it is likely the pilot did not adequately verify the quantity of fuel during the preflight inspection of the airplane or take into account the amount of fuel burned since the airplane was last fueled.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN20LA162 for the full record.