Cessna 180 accident near Manitowish Wate, Wisconsin, October 27, 2005
On October 27, 2005 at about 8:43 pm local time, a Cessna 180, registered N20KK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Manitowish Wate, Wisconsin (Manitowish Waters Airport). It was a personal 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A factor to the accident was the trees the airplane impacted during the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 27, 2005 · about 8:43 pm local time
- Place
- Manitowish Wate, Wisconsin · Manitowish Waters Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180 · all 180s on the register
- Registration
- N20KK · registry record · serial 31022
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane experienced a loss of engine power while on final approach. The pilot reported that he fueled the airplane to capacity before the first flight of the day. The pilot stated that he flew from Manitowish Waters (D25) to Ashland (ASX). Then he flew 2.1 hours during a biennial flight review. After completing the flight review, the pilot flew from ASX to Land O' Lakes (LNL) to pickup a passenger and then flew back to D25. The pilot stated that while on final approach to D25, at approximately 500 feet above ground level, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The airplane impacted trees and terrain during the subsequent forced landing. One gallon of fuel was drained from the airplane after the accident. There was no evidence of fuel spill or drainage at the accident site. The engine started and ran without anomalies when supplied with fuel. The pilot told a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that he did not visually check the fuel quantity prior to departing on the accident flight.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 650 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: October 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,689.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2005; 20.3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,700 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LNL Land O' Lakes WI at 8:20 pm
- Destination: D25 Manitowish Wate WI
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 32, 3,500 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.27 inHg
- Observation at 8:35 pm from ARV, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 CHI06CA022.