| Crash location | 35.126667°N, 87.354444°W |
| Nearest city | Lawrenceburg, TN
35.242302°N, 87.334739°W 8.1 miles away |
| Tail number | N759TY |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 19 Jun 2002 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna 182Q |
| Additional details: | None |
On June 19, 2002, about 1400 central daylight time, a Cessna 182Q, N759TY, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, experienced a reported loss of engine power in the vicinity of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, and nosed over during a forced landing to an open field. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a visual flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and commercial rated passenger reported no injuries. The flight originated from Hot Springs, Arkansas, at 1154.
The pilot stated she was in cruise flight at 4,000 feet when the engine quit and started again by itself. The engine did this two more times and the airplane started to lose altitude. She activated her GPS to determine the nearest airport. The computer indicated an airport was 8 miles north of their location. She realized she could not make the airport and initiated a forced landing to a field. On touch down the airplane collided with plowed furrows and nosed over inverted.
The post-accident examination of the wreckage revealed that the left and right fuel tanks were not ruptured. The left main fuel tank had a tight seal and the fuel tank was empty. The right fuel cap was loose and there was evidence of fuel streaking on the top of the right wing. No fuel was present in the right main fuel tank. About 6 ounces of fuel was drained from the gascolator. The airplane also sustained damage to both wings and the vertical stabilizer.
The pilot reported that she refueled the airplane twice before departing on the visual flight. She completed a preflight inspection after she refueled the first time and visually checked the fuel cap. She decided to add more fuel to the airplane before she departed. The refueler added the fuel but the pilot did not check the fuel caps before she departed.
The pilot's failure to secure the fuel cap after refueling that resulted in fuel siphoning from the right main fuel tank and the subsequent fuel supply exhaustion, and the total loss of engine power. The airplane was damaged during the forced landing to a field.