NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN10CA178
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate in-flight fuel monitoring.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the cross-country flight proceeded normally until approximately 25 miles from the destination. At that time, the engine speed decreased unexpectedly. His attempts to increase engine power by pushing in the throttle had no effect. The pilot noted that he switched the fuel selector to the right tank and then to the left tank with no effect. He returned the fuel selector to the “both” setting and the engine regained power. He elected to immediately divert to the nearest airport. However, the engine lost power again and he ultimately executed a forced landing to a corn field. The airplane nosed over and was substantially damaged during the emergency landing. A post accident inspection did not reveal any anomalies associated with a pre-impact engine failure or malfunction. No evidence of a fuel spill was observed at the accident site, and no fuel was observed in the fuel tanks after the accident. The pilot reported that the cross-country flight proceeded normally until approximately 25 miles from the destination. At that time, the engine speed decreased unexpectedly. His attempts to increase engine power by pushing in the throttle had no effect. The pilot stated that he switched the fuel selector to the right tank and then to the left tank with no effect. He returned the fuel selector to the “both” setting and the engine regained power. The pilot then elected to immediately divert to the nearest airport; however, the engine lost power again and he executed a forced landing to a corn field. The airplane nosed over and was substantially damaged. A postaccident inspection did not reveal any anomalies associated with a preimpact engine failure or malfunction. No evidence of a fuel spill was observed at the accident site, and no fuel was observed in the fuel tanks after the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2010_CEN10CA178.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion, engine failure). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Multi-level Adaptation for Automatic Landing with Engine Failure under Turbulent Weather
This paper addresses efficient feasibility evaluation of possible emergency landing sites, online navigation, and path following for automatic landing under engine-out failure subject to turbulent wea…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Simulation of Liquid Rocket Engine Failure Propagation Using Self-Evolving Scenarios
Traditional probabilistic risk assessment approaches often require failure scenarios to be explicitly defined through event sequences that are then quantified as part of the integrated analysis.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Rocket engine failure detection using system identification techiques
The theoretical foundation and application of two univariate failure detection algorithms to Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) test firing data is presented.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Rocket engine failure detection using system identification techniques
The theoretical foundation and application of two univariate failure detection algorithms to Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) test firing data is presented.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
A simulator investigation of engine failure compensation for powered-lift STOL aircraft
A piloted simulator investigation of various engine failure compensation concepts for powered-lift STOL aircraft was carried out at the Ames Research Center.
- Semantic Scholar 2019 · Article (AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum)
Impact of Engine Failure Constraints on the Initial Sizing of Hybrid-Electric GA Aircraft
Potential advantages of hybrid-electric aircraft are fuel savings, lower emissions, and reduced noise. Since these aircraft generally apply multiple power sources, they can also be designed to sustain…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗