Cessna 182D accident near Santa Clarita, California, July 25, 2006
On July 25, 2006 at about 6:45 pm local time, a Cessna 182D, registered N8961X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Santa Clarita, California. 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. The fuel exhaustion was the result of a split O-ring on the right fuel cap, which allowed fuel to siphon out of the right fuel tank during flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 25, 2006 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Santa Clarita, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182D · all 182Ds on the register
- Registration
- N8961X · no longer on the register · serial 18253361
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion and the airplane collided with rocks during a forced landing in a riverbed. The pilot refueled the airplane before departure and flew approximately 2 hours before the engine lost power. He switched from the left fuel tank to the right tank and the engine restarted; however, it lost complete power about 10 minutes later. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane at the accident site and recovered a residual amount of fuel from the right tank and no fuel from the left tank. He noted that the right fuel cap O-ring was split and there was heavy blue staining from the fuel cap, aft in a slip stream induced pattern to the trailing edge of the wing.
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
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Continental O-470L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: O61 Cameron Park CA
- Destination: WHP Whiteman CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.