On March 11, 1996, a Cessna A185E (registration N712MY) operated by Folsom's Air Service was involved in an aviation accident near Shirley, ME. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to switch fuel tanks before the right tank was empty, resulting in fuel starvation. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 1 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A pilot lost total engine power during a timber survey flight after running the right fuel tank dry. The pilot reported no mechanical issues and cited failure to switch tanks before depletion.
Accident Details
A pilot intended to conduct a survey flight of timber property. The airplane departed with 10 gallons of fuel in the right fuel tank and 15 gallons in the left fuel tank. About 5 minutes after departure, the pilot repositioned the fuel selector valve from the both position to the right position. The flight was continued for approximately 45 minutes with the fuel selector selected to the right fuel tank. The engine then lost total power as the pilot performed a right turn.
Pilot Report
The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft. The pilot stated, "I neglected to switch before the tank was completely empty." The pilot further stated that the accident could have been prevented by "better management of the fuel system. After the engine quit I should have turned the boost pump on and switched to BOTH on the fuel selector, or simply run on BOTH the entire flight."
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to switch fuel tanks before the right tank was empty, resulting in fuel starvation.