Nenana, AK, USA
N2117Z
Cessna 180
The non-certificated pilot was flying a tailwheel airplane in cruise flight when the engine lost all power. He selected the only landing site possible, a clearing with several tree stumps. During the ensuing landing, the airplane nosed over, and received structural damage to the wings, fuselage, and vertical stabilizer. The pilot stated he did not have a pilot's license, and that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion.
On August 25, 2003, about 2030 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N2117Z, received substantial damage when it lost engine power and nosed over during an emergency landing at an off-airport site, located about 18 miles northeast of Nenana, Alaska. The non-certificated pilot and the sole passenger were not injured. The Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight departed Fairbanks, Alaska, about 1930, and was returning from a remote hunting camp to the Chena Marina airstrip, Fairbanks. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 27, the passenger, who is also the airplane's registered owner, related that during a return flight from a moose hunting camp, the airplane ran out of gas. He said the pilot selected the only available landing site, a clearing that had a large number of tree stumps. He said that during the landing roll, the airplane nosed over, and received substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and vertical stabilizer. The passenger said he was a student pilot, and he thought that the pilot, a former co-owner of the accident airplane, had a pilot certificate. On August 28, at 0900, the pilot of the airplane telephoned the IIC. He related essentially the same information as the passenger. He noted that he did not have a pilot certificate, and that the airplane's engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. A review of the Federal Aviation Administration's pilot database failed to find any record of a pilot certificate for the passenger or the pilot. The pilot did not respond to written requests asking that he submit a completed Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1, as required by Title 49, CFR Part 830.
The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane prior to fuel exhaustion, which resulted in a loss of engine power and a forced landing in unsuitable terrain.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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