Cessna 182H N6320B accident near Prescott, Arizona

Probable cause

A loss of engine power from fuel starvation due to the pilot's mismanagement of the fuel system and failure to select a tank containing fuel.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was on a nighttime cross-country flight from northern Nevada to Arizona. After 4 hours 10 minutes of flight, the engine lost power, and despite multiple efforts, would not restart. The pilot verified that the magneto switch and fuel selector were set to the "both" position and he applied full rich mixture. The pilot initiated a forced landing to an unlit area adjacent to his position and impacted terrain in a nose low attitude resulting in structural damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot added that prior to departure, he had topped off both wing fuel tanks and had about 5 to 7 gallons in a reserve fuel tank. During recovery of the airplane, 15 gallons of fuel were drained from the right wing fuel tank and no fuel was found in the left wing fuel tank. The fuel system was found to be intact. After recovery of the airplane, the left wing fuel tank was fueled using 6 of the 15 gallons that were removed initially from the right tank. The engine was started and ran for 10 minutes through a wide range of power settings with the fuel selector valve positioned on the right and both settings.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for LAX08LA127 for the full record.