NTSB Factual Report

On September 9, 2003, at 1440 central daylight time, a Cessna T210N, N5360U, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a complete loss of engine power about 10 miles east of the Pine River Regional Airport (PWC), Pine River, Minnesota. The personal flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 and was not on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot sustained minor injuries and the passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight departed the Richard I. Bong Airport (SUW), Superior, Wisconsin, about 1400, with an intended destination of PWC.

In his written statement, the pilot reported that during descent into SUW he "felt the plane slow up quite quickly." He stated that he checked the landing gear and flap position, and they were both still up. He reported he verified the position of the engine controls, however he was unable to restore power.

The pilot reported that when he looked up he was getting close to a tower, which he immediately turned to avoid. At this point, the pilot stated that he selected an emergency landing field north of his position. He noted that the stall warning horn went off a couple of times during the approach. Each time he responded by reducing pitch.

Concerning the emergency landing, the pilot reported: "After I cleared the tree line I put down my wheels and ten degrees of flaps. ... I had to turn pretty sharply to avoid a large tree that was in the middle of the field. When I felt I had cleared the tree I straightened out the plane and pulled the nose up to flare. The plane did not seem to flare and hit the ground very hard. The landing gear collapsed upon impact and the plane slid on the ground."

The pilot reported no malfunctions with the aircraft or engine prior to the loss of engine power.

The post-accident examination of the aircraft recovered approximately 8 ounces of fuel from the fuel tanks. No fuel was present in the fuel line running from the firewall to the engine. The fuel tanks and lines appeared to be intact and no evidence of fuel leakage was observed.

The pilot stated that a Miniflo Digital Fuel Management System, manufactured by Shadin Company, was installed in the aircraft. On the morning of the accident, the pilot flew the aircraft from PWC to SUW. He noted that the fuel management computer indicated 54 gallons remaining and the fuel quantity gauges indicated at one-half tanks before departing PWC. Prior to the return flight, the pilot reported that the fuel management computer indicated 36 gallons remaining.

The pilot stated that he did not visually confirm the fuel level before flight. In addition, he noted that he conducted an abbreviated preflight inspection. He stated the abbreviated preflight was due to the fact that his wife was flying with him and he did not want to make her nervous.

The operating manual for the fuel management system stated that it is "designed to provide complete fuel management information under real flight conditions without any manual entry of data (after entry of the initial fuel on-board information)."

Under "Preflight Procedures", the manual went on to state: "Miniflo is a fuel flow measuring system and NOT a quantity-sensing device. A visual inspection and positive determination of the usable fuel in the fuel tanks is a necessity. Therefore, it is imperative that the determined available usable fuel be manually entered into the system."

NTSB Probable Cause

An inadequate pre-flight inspection by the pilot due to his failure to visually confirm fuel quantity prior to flight, and the resulting fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors were the pilot's improper use of the fuel management computer installed in the aircraft, and the tree located in the middle of the emergency landing field.