Cessna 182 accident near Gypsum, Colorado, June 5, 2024
On June 5, 2024 at about 2:12 am local time, a 1956 Cessna 182, registered N5755B, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Gypsum, Colorado. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the flight instructor and the pilot to visually confirm the airplane’s fuel quantity during preflight, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and an off-airport forced landing in rough terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 5, 2024 · about 2:12 am local time
- Place
- Gypsum, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182, built 1956 · all 182s on the register
- Registration
- N5755B · no longer on the register · serial 33755
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and the pilot were conducting an instructional flight when the airplane had a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. The airplane fuselage sustained substantial damage during the forced landing in rough terrain. The flight instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane operator reported that the fuel tanks remained intact after the accident, were void of usable fuel, and both fuel tank quantity gauges indicated empty. Before the flight, the flight instructor asked another flight instructor to request the fixed based operator (FBO) to refuel the airplane. However, despite the fuel request being relayed to the FBO front desk personnel, the airplane was not fueled before it departed on the flight. The flight instructor and the pilot both admitted that they did not visually confirm the fuel quantity during their preflight inspection. Additionally, believing that the fuel tanks were topped-off as requested, the pilots erroneously reset the airplane’s electronic fuel totalizer to reflect a full fuel load before takeoff.
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
What happened, in order
- Fuel exhaustion during enroute defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during landing
- Hard landing during landing
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Inadequate inspection
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Inspection › Preflight inspection › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Inspection › Preflight inspection › Instructor/check pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Rough terrain › Contributed to outcome
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 459 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 171 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 392 as pilot in command; 157 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 4, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 156 hours in all; 63 in this make and model; 54 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 78 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: November 29, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,136 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 3, 2024; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-S (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EGE Eagle CO at 11:53 pm
- Destination: EGE Eagle CO
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 7:56 pm from EGE, 2 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KEGE 050156Z AUTO 28008KT 10SM CLR 23/03 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP102 T02280028 PNO $
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
6 documents, released by the NTSB on January 21, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Statement (Flight Instructor) | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Statement (Pilot) | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Statement (Fuel Request) | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Record of Conversation (Loren French) | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 6 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.