Cessna 182 accident near Diamond Lake, Oregon, March 17, 2007
On March 17, 2007 at about 5:10 am local time, a Cessna 182, registered N6462A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Diamond Lake, Oregon (Klamath Falls airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and failure to verify the fuel supply. A factor was the night lighting condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 17, 2007 · about 5:10 am local time
- Place
- Diamond Lake, Oregon · Klamath Falls · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182 · all 182s on the register
- Registration
- N6462A · no longer on the register · serial 33262
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While en route on a night cross-county flight, the engine quit due to fuel exhaustion and the pilot made a forced landing on a mountain slope. The pilot received a phone call earlier that his sister had been admitted to the hospital with a medical condition. The pilot decided that he would fly that night to the city where his sister was hospitalized. The pilot performed a preflight inspection but failed to fuel the airplane. He took off at 2100. Shortly after reaching his cruising altitude of 12,500 feet he realized that he had not fueled the airplane. Upon checking the fuel gauges determined that the fuel tanks were empty. He radioed the tower at his destination airport that he was out of fuel and anticipated a forced landing in the mountains. The engine then quit and he turned the airplane to the southeast to try to land on a small Forest Service mountain runway. He could see the ground and mountainous terrain getting closer, determined that he would not make it to the runway, and proceeded to force land the airplane on a steep snow covered slope.
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: 715 hours in all; 493 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 647 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,000 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2006
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Continental O-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KLMT Klamath Falls OR at 4:00 am
- Destination: KEUG Eugene OR
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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.