The pilot reported that, after the takeoff he switched to the Cessna 177’s right fuel tank to verify that it was working, and then switched back to the left tank to run it dry for upcoming maintenance.
When the engine began to sputter, he switched to the right tank, but the engine lost all power, despite turning the fuel pump on, pumping the throttle, and again switching back to the left tank.
He force landed the airplane to a dirt field near White Swan, Washington, where the nose landing gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage.
The pilot examined the fuel tanks and discovered that the left tank had about two gallons remaining, and the right tank had about 15 gallons remaining.
Probable Cause: A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot’s improper fuel management.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This October 2021 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.
A little different ‘fuel management’ problem.
From the final report…” Post-accident examination revealed debris in the metal screen filter in the carburetor.” Which I’ll assume means that the fuel flow was blocked by the debris in the finger screen.!
I wonder how much was in the gascolator., and remaining in the tank ?
So, maybe instead of flying to empty a tank, which in this case appears to have had sufficient debris in it to block the fuel flow, just remove the fuel line from the carb. and empty the tank into a fuel can.
Gravity flow in a Cessna can be about 20 gph, so it will be only a few minutes to empty a tank, and maybe rock the wings to get most of the ‘stuff’ out of the tank too ?
During my annual, I’ll check the gascolator bowl and screen,[ disassemble it ].
Then, I’ll remove the carb. bowl drain plug and catch the fuel in a can to see what ‘stuff’ is there. [ shut the fuel off 1st ! ].
I thought that the probable cause for this was wonky. If you have fuel in the tank but you can’t seem to get it, that’s not mismanagement. Now the question is, what was the debris and where did it come from?
Assuming that the pilot did sump the tanks to clear water and the like…. And nothing showed in the sample(s)…