Cessna 177 accident near Ayer, Massachusetts, September 11, 2021
On September 11, 2021 at about 5:35 pm local time, a 1968 Cessna 177, registered N912VW, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Ayer, Massachusetts. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’ improper preflight and inflight planning which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 11, 2021 · about 5:35 pm local time
- Place
- Ayer, Massachusetts · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177 B, built 1968 · all 177s on the register
- Registration
- N912VW · registry record · serial 17700859
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After concluding a visit with a family member, the pilot conducted a preflight of his airplane and departed for his home airport which was 1-hour away and planned to stop for fuel enroute. During the preflight he noticed that he had about 9 gallons of gasoline in the left-wing fuel tank, and none in the right-wing fuel tank so he decided to fly with the fuel selector in the left wing fuel tank position instead of in the “BOTH ON” position as specified for takeoff in the owner’s manual. While at 2,800 feet above mean sea level, when he was about 6.7 miles from his chosen enroute fueling location, the airplane’s engine began to sputter and then incurred a complete loss of power. The pilot then made an off-airport emergency landing in a parking lot, and during the landing roll, the airplane struck a 4- to 5-foot-high pile of debris at the edge of the parking lot. Examination of the airplane revealed that it was substantially damaged, and there was no usable fuel present in either the left- or right-wing fuel tank, or the firewall mounted fuel strainer. During the investigation it was revealed that the pilot had passed up three other airports during the flight as the gas was 20 cents per gallon cheaper at his chosen fuel stop. It was also further revealed that, the pilot would deduce his fuel burn by rules of thumb using one single fuel burn number, rather than using the published cruise and range performance that was in the owner’s manual, and that he was using a fuel dipstick during preflight from another airplane model that was not calibrated for his airplane model, to help determine the amount of fuel in his fuel tanks.
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
- Ground collision during landing (landing roll)
- Fuel starvation during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute (cruise)
- Loss of engine power (total) during emergency descent
- Off-field or emergency landing during landing
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge › Knowledge › Knowledge of equipment › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Inspection › Preflight inspection › Pilot
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 625 hours in all; 94 in this make and model
- Last flight review: June 10, 2020
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,545.9 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 15, 2020; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 2,546 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NH86 Henniker NH at 5:00 pm
- Destination: 6B6 Stow MA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 3:52 pm from FIT, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 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 ERA21LA380.