Cessna 177 N3295T accident near Chino, California

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning which resulted in a loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that he prepared a flight plan the night before his departure which included three legs, with a fuel stop planned after the second leg. On the day of the accident, the pilot performed a preflight inspection on the airplane and determined that he had sufficient fuel to make the planned 2-hour trip with the appropriate fuel reserve. He flew to the first planned airport, and then amended his flight plan and flew to a different airport, not originally on his flight plan. He did not preflight or consider how this leg would affect his fuel calculations. After the second stop, he did an abbreviated preflight, which consisted of visually checking the fuel and oil levels. He looked into the fuel tanks, but did not physically measure the amount of fuel. He estimated the amount of fuel on board, but did not recognize that the fuel level was too low to make the flight. He then departed for the planned fuel stop airport. The airplane was over a housing tract a few miles northwest of the destination airport when the fuel supply was exhausted and the engine lost power. The pilot made a forced landing on a golf course, but could not stop the airplane before it collided with ground obstacles.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR10LA345 for the full record.