NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On October 15, 2012, at 1131 mountain standard time, a Cirrus Design Corp SR20, N499SF, landed hard during a forced landing in mountainous desert terrain near Suquilla Airport, Parker, Arizona. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage and both wings during the accident sequence. The cross-country flight departed John Wayne-Orange County Airport, Santa Ana, California, at 0959, with a planned destination of Ernest A. Love Field Airport, Prescott, Arizona. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The pilot stated that the first leg of the flight was from Santa Monica Municipal Airport earlier that morning, and that prior to departure he visually established the fuel quantity through the filler necks, observing what he believed to be full tanks. He subsequently checked the fuel gauges, which indicated that the wing tanks were each under half full. He surmised that the gauges were faulty, basing this assumption on the fact that the gauges of an airplane he had previously owned were inaccurate. He subsequently departed for Santa Ana, where he picked up a passenger. Without refueling the airplane, the flight departed for Prescott.

The pilot stated that the airplane subsequently ran out of fuel as they approached the Parker very high frequency omnidirectional radio range transmitter (VOR), about 200 miles west of Santa Ana. He performed a forced landing into a rocky outcropping, about 13 miles northeast of Avi Suquilla Airport.

TESTS AND RESEARCH

Recovery personnel drained about 6 ounces of fuel from the fuel tanks during recovery of the airplane, and a subsequent examination of the airframe and engine by an FAA inspector did not reveal any fuel leaks.

The airplane was equipped with both an Avidyne Entegra Primary (PFD), and Multifunction (MFD) Flight Display, and two Garmin GNS 430 GPS/Navigation/Communication transceivers. The Avidyne units were capable of recording the airplane's GPS position, as well as engine and fuel flow parameters. The units were sent to the NTSB Office of Research and Engineering for data extraction. The data for both flights had been recorded.

The flight from Santa Monica to Santa Ana lasted about 23 minutes, and included an initial climb from about sea level to 3,500 feet pressure altitude.

Following departure from Santa Ana, the airplane initiated a climb to 7,500 feet, while on an east-northeast track. Twelve minutes later, at 1011, the engine power reduced with its speed decreasing from 2,650 to 2,540 rpm, and fuel flow falling from just under 17 gallons per hour (gph) to about 10.5 gph.

At 1114:54, the fuel flow decreased from 10.6 to 1.5 gph, with a corresponding engine exhaust gas temperature (EGT) reduction of approximately 400 degrees F, and a drop in engine speed of 250 rpm. Over the course of the next 80 seconds, the parameters recovered, with the fuel flow rising to 16.6 gph before settling back to about 10 gph at 1117. Five minutes later, the EGT, fuel flow, and engine rpm values all began oscillating, and at 1123:30, the aircraft began a 1,000-feet-per-minute descent. For the remainder of the flight, the fuel flow dropped below 4 gph, and the EGT fell below the recording limit of 500 degrees F.

Fuel consumption computed by the MFD for the accident flight was 17.4 gallons, with the prior flight consumption computed as 5.5 gallons.

The airplane was equipped with two 28-gallon usable wet-wing fuel storage tanks, and a three-position selector valve, configured for the left tank, right tank, and OFF position.

The SR20 Pilot's Operating Handbook and FAA Approved Airplane Flight Manual defined the range/endurance profile under the "Performance Data" section. The data revealed that at a gross weight of 3,000 pounds, standard temperature, with the engine producing 65 percent power, and the mixture set to "best power," fuel would be consumed at the rate of 10.5 gph at all altitudes up to 12,000 feet. Fuel used to climb from sea level to 4,000 feet and sea level to 8,000 feet, was 1.3 and 2.9 gallons, respectively.

GPS data revealed that about the time of the initial fuel flow drop, the airplane was about 17 miles west of Gene Wash Reservoir Airport, Parker Dam, California, and 15 miles northwest of Avi Suquilla Airport. The airplane continued on the same track, flying directly over Gene Wash Reservoir Airport, about 6 minutes later. Two minutes after overflying the airport, the engine parameters dropped, and the airplane began a descending right turn towards Avi Suquilla.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Gene Wash Reservoir was a private airport comprised of a single 2,200-foot-long, 30-foot-wide asphalt airstrip. Its presence was documented on the FAA Phoenix Sectional Aeronautical Chart.

The 77-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate, and reported a total flight experience of 2,480 hours, 50 of which were in the SR20.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to perform an adequate preflight inspection, which resulted in inadequate fuel for the flight and the subsequent fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to land the airplane at the first indication of low fuel.