Cessna 177B N35243 accident near Ivanhoe, North Carolina

Probable cause

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

NTSB analysis

The pilot was returning from a cross-country flight and planned to stop for fuel along the way; however, due to deteriorating weather conditions along his route of flight, he was unable to stop. The pilot then became distracted trying to avoid weather when the airplane’s engine lost power. The pilot further described that, “We should have landed at the nearest clear airport but got fixated on dodging rain clouds causing time consuming maneuvers to go around the storms into headwinds and unaware of fuel reserves.” He subsequently performed a forced landing to a field and struck a ditch resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s intact fuel tanks revealed they were empty of useable fuel. Given this information, it is likely that during the unplanned deviations around weather, the airplane’s usable fuel supply was exhausted, which resulted in the total loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA22LA406 for the full record.