WPR15LA185

Factual narrative

On June 13, 2015, about 1900 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182A airplane, N5143D, experienced a loss of engine power while on final approach to the Canyonlands Field Airport (CNY), Moab, Utah. The pilot subsequently made an off airport forced landing. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained structural damage to the tail section of the airplane. The airplane was operated by Skydive Canyonlands under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a skydiving operation. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight, and a company flight plan had been filed. The pilot reported that there was a total of 14 gallons of fuel on board when he took the airplane and that no other fuel was added. The flight departed from runway 21, and he made several left turns to align the airplane with the intended drop zone. Once the jumpers exited the airplane, he flew on a northwestern heading for a few miles before he initiated a left turn for a return to the airport. About 3 miles from the airport, the engine lost power. The pilot tried unsuccessfully to restart the engine before initiating a forced landing on rough desert terrain. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuel level in the right-side fuel tank was about 5 gallons, and the left-side fuel tank had about 3 gallons. According to the airplane's operating limitations, there is 10 gallons of unusable fuel, of which 7 gallons may be available, but only in level flight operations The company reported that this airplane burns about 12 gallons of fuel per hour; the accident flight was estimated to be 30-35 minutes. Neither the pilot nor the operator completed the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1. The commercial pilot reported that he maneuvered back toward the airport to land after dropping skydivers. During the approach for landing, about 1,000 ft above the airport, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot was unable to restart the engine and subsequently initiated a forced landing to the desert floor. The airplane departed with about 14 gallons of fuel on board, and the flight was about 30 to 35 minutes in duration. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the right wing fuel tank contained about 5 gallons of fuel, and the left wing fuel tank contained about 3 gallons. According to the airplane's operating limitations, 10 gallons of fuel is unusable in all flight attitudes (5 gallons per tank). Given a fuel consumption rate of about 12 gallons per hour and the fuel found in the wing tanks after the accident, it is likely that the loss of engine power was the result of fuel exhaustion. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Not specified