Cessna 177RG N98SW accident near Santa Paula, California

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to ensure adequate fuel onboard for the planned flight, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB analysis

The pilot planned to fly in the airport traffic pattern for about 30 minutes to maintain currency in his airplane, which he had not flown or refueled in several months. He used the fuel gauges to determine his fuel quantity, which he estimated to be about 10 gallons. The pilot did not look inside the fuel tanks to verify the fuel quantity; however, he did sump the tanks, which took three attempts before he observed water-free fuel samples. He did not observe any anomalies during the engine runup, after takeoff, or during the first three rounds in the airport traffic pattern. During the initial climb following his fourth touch-and-go maneuver, the pilot experienced a total loss of engine power at 100 ft above ground level. The pilot was unable to restore engine power during the descent, and the airplane impacted a dry riverbed and came to rest upright. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the stabilator.

The fuel tanks were not breached, there were no obstructions in the fuel strainer, and no evidence of water contamination in the fuel system. About 2 gallons of fuel was recovered from the right wing tank, and the left wing tank was empty. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of a preexisting malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation, and a test run of the engine revealed no anomalies.

The pilot did not check the fuel tanks before the flight to validate the fuel quantity indicated by the fuel gauges. As one fuel tank was devoid of fuel and the other fuel tank was nearly empty, he likely departed with an insufficient fuel level for the short flight.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR20LA117 for the full record.