The pilot reported that before the flight the fuel tanks were “topped off with fuel” and, after being distracted, a second walk around the airplane was not properly conducted.
He further reported that after about an hour of flight the engine lost power and he was forced to maneuver for an emergency landing. During the emergency landing, he reported that his initial approach was to an interstate, but due to thick traffic he made a turn towards a landfill near Hogansville, Georgia, and hit terrain.
The Cessna 182 sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.
After the accident, the passenger received a telephone call from the departure airport fuel service attendant stating that the airplane’s left fuel cap was on the airport ramp.
During a post-accident examination by the pilot, it was revealed that the left fuel cap was missing.
Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to replace the left fuel cap following the preflight inspection, which resulted in fuel exhaustion, a loss of engine power, an emergency landing, and impact with terrain.
NTSB Identification: GAA16CA387
This July 2016 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I find it strange that leaving one fuel cap off would siphon all the fuel from both tanks.?
A Cessna with 10-15 gallons less in one tank will cause a ‘heavy wing’, causing the aircraft to roll.
The pilot will notice this and check the gauges. I know this from experience in my Cessna.[ a fuel feed issue with the selector in ‘both’.
Also, I have chains attaching the caps to the filler neck, so if I did takeoff with a cap off, I assume it would be banging against the wing and I’d notice….[ never did this so I don’t know ].
The Cessna system has an interconnect line near the top of the tanks (plus the overboard vent line behind the left strut) to accomplish venting. With the low pressure above the wing, the missing cap on one side can apparently result in emptying both tanks nearly simultaneously.
There’s no substitute for a thorough walk-around immediately before strapping in, checking those caps while behind the wing, and for monitoring fuel gauges during flight.
Yes, but the Cessna interconnect vent between the tanks is 1/4 inch and the left under-wing vent is a 3/8 tube. The open filler neck could siphon the 30-40 gallons from the left tank rather quickly, but I can’t imagine the vent flowing much.
The fuel lines to the selector are sized to flow 30+ gallons per hour by gravity, but again I find it hard to believe that all 80 gallons would siphon out of the left tank filler neck in 1 hour.
Something else was going on, or missing/ wrong info.[ like the refueler only filled the left tank , which he left the cap off..? ]
Reasonable observation. Too bad they didn’t mention anything about fueling records which would (should) verify the exact amount of gallons put into the airplane. It is also a little mysterious as to why it was the passenger getting the call from the fueler and not the pilot.
Irresponsibility of the person doing the preflight is always to blame. High wing, low wing doesn’t matter and never will. Some people just like some auto drivers should not fly and or drive. That’s all there is.!!!
High wing planes have this hazard. Replace the pitot cover each time you fuel in a high wing…that way you get a visual reminder to check the fuel caps.