Cessna 177RG accident near Columbia, South Carolina, March 22, 2000
On March 22, 2000 at about 11:20 pm local time, a Cessna 177RG, registered N1556H, was destroyed in an accident near Columbia, South Carolina (Columbia Owens Downtown airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The PIC's inadequate planning and preparation resulting in refueling not being performed and the subsequent fuel exhaustion and forced landing into trees. A factor in the accident was the erratic operation of the right fuel tank quantity indicating system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 22, 2000 · about 11:20 pm local time
- Place
- Columbia, South Carolina · Columbia Owens Downtown · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177RG · all 177RGs on the register
- Registration
- N1556H · no longer on the register · serial 177RG0730
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the PIC, substantiated by the widow of the passenger/pilot, the airplane fuel tanks were topped off at Orangeburg Municipal Airport, Orangeburg, South Carolina, on March 19, 2000. The PIC further stated that he flew directly home to Columbia Downtown Airport, parked, and tied down for a total fuel burn time of about 30 minutes. On March 22, 2000, the airplane took off from Columbia Downtown Airport, the PIC having radioed his intention to stay in the traffic pattern, and sustained an engine stoppage as the airplane approached the abeam position for its first landing. The airplane collided with the terrain and revealed no evidence of onboard fuel at the crash site. The engine underwent a factory test cell run, and it was unsatisfactory until factory fuel injector nozzles were substituted, at which time the engine met factory specifications. Subsequent disassembly examination of the fuel system components revealed contamination in the fuel injector servo. The fuel quantity indication system underwent factory testing and revealed the right tank system was operating erratically, which appeared to be a precrash condition.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 449 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 364 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,623 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 9, 1999; 24 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CUB at 11:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:35 pm from CUB, 1 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.
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.