Skip to content

WPR25LA184

2025-06-20 · Rockford, Washington, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N2680Y

Make / Model
CESSNA 180E
Year of manufacture
1962 · 63 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19620914
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A29F24

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and a subsequent landing on rough terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that about 30 minutes from the destination airport the engine lost all power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a rough field, during which the left main landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks contained no usable fuel. The pilot stated that during his preflight inspection, he did not visually verify the fuel levels in the fuel tanks and relied on the fuel analyzer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_WPR25LA184.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). All research papers