Cadiz, KY, USA
N35552
Cessna 177RG
During a cross-country flight, while descending from 5,500 feet, the engine started to "surge". The pilot turned toward the nearest airport, and the engine stopped running. After attaining best glide airspeed, the pilot felt the airplane wouldn't make it to the airport, so he force-landed in a field. The pilot flared the airplane "a little high," and landed hard. A post-accident examination of the airplane revealed 110 ml of fuel in each tank, with no evidence of leakage. En route, the pilot had to deviate once due to weather and once due to a restricted area. The pilot also reported operating the airplane 4.5 hours since the last fuel stop.
On September 15, 2005, about 1500 central daylight time, a Cessna 177RG, N35552, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in Cadiz, Kentucky. The certificated private pilot and one passenger incurred minor injuries, and one passenger was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight, from Grayson County Airport (GYI), Denison, Texas, to Hopkinsville-Christian County Airport (HOP), Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot reported first departing Parker County Airport (WEA), Weatherford, Texas, about 1010 central daylight, and landing at Grayson County Airport to pick up a passenger. The airplane then departed Grayson County Airport at 1111 central daylight time, on a direct route to Hopkinsville. En route, the pilot had to deviate toward Pine Bluff, Arkansas, for weather, and was later vectored around a restricted area by Fort Campbell Approach Control. After the vector, the pilot started a descent from 5,500 feet, and during the descent, the engine started to "surge". The pilot then turned toward the nearest airfield, Lake Barkley Airport (1M9), Cadiz, Kentucky, and the engine stopped running. The pilot subsequently attained best glide airspeed, but didn't think he'd make it to the airport, and force-landed in a field. The pilot also noted that he might have flared the airplane "a little high," and landed hard. In a separate statement, the pilot reported that the airplane had operated "4.5 hours since our last fuel stop." During a post-accident examination of the airplane, FAA inspectors could drain only 100 ml of fuel from each main fuel tank after tilting the wings. There was no fuel in the fuel lines, and the fuel cap o-rings had "some deterioration but the sealing surface appeared okay; no signs of leakage."
The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power. A factor was the pilot's early flare during the emergency landing.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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