Cessna 180 accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, June 2, 2001
On June 2, 2001 at about 1:00 am local time, a Cessna 180, registered N9311T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane, his inadequate preflight planning/decision making, and subsequent fuel exhaustion during cruise flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 2, 2001 · about 1:00 am local time
- Place
- Fairbanks, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180 · all 180s on the register
- Registration
- N9311T · registry record · serial 5081
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated commercial pilot, with three passengers aboard, departed from a remote lake in a float-equipped, single engine airplane. While in level, cruise flight, the engine began to run rough, and lose power. Emergency procedures restored partial engine power momentarily, followed by a complete loss of engine power. The airplane collided with trees during a subsequent forced landing, and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. An FAA inspector examined the airplane and reported that both fuel tanks were empty. The pilot reported that the fuel gauges installed in his airplane would consistently provide an inaccurate fuel quantity reading. He added that prior to departure, he visually checked the quantity of fuel in the wing fuel tanks by using a fuel measuring device, but later added that the fuel level reading may have been in error due to the airplane's attitude while moored.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,920 hours in all; 1,411 in this make and model; 11 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 1,846 as pilot in command; 163 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 28, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,349.1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2001; 10.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,820 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ENN Nenana AK at 7:30 pm
- Destination: AK28 Fairbanks AK
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 100 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Other NTSB records under N9311T the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC01LA063.