Cessna TR182 accident near Dixie, Idaho, October 17, 2001
On October 17, 2001 at about 3:15 am local time, a Cessna TR182, registered N756CE, was destroyed in an accident near Dixie, Idaho. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to refuel en route resulting in fuel exhaustion, and his inadvertent entry into a stall condition during the emergency descent. Contributing factors were dark night conditions and mountainous/hilly terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 17, 2001 · about 3:15 am local time
- Place
- Dixie, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna TR182 · all TR182s on the register
- Registration
- N756CE · no longer on the register · serial R18201036
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed Boise, Idaho, in the Lycoming O-540-L3C5D powered Cessna TR182 arriving at Ft. Collins 3.0 hours of tach time later on the day before the accident. The aircraft departed Boise with full (88 gallons useable) fuel tanks and remained overnight at Ft. Collins where there was no overnight security available. The aircraft was fueled with 30 gallons of fuel at Ft. Collins the next day with 20 gallons in the right tank (to full according to the fueler) and 10 gallons in the left tank (to 3/4 full according to the fueler). A credit card receipt for this fueling was date/time stamped for 1712. A radar track showed the aircraft flying westbound crossing 7 nm south of Pocatello and 21 nm north of Gooding, Idaho, where public airports with lighted runways and fuel were located. At 2112, in dark night conditions, the pilot radioed Salt Lake Air Route Traffic Control that he had an engine out and about one minute later referenced a 'field on fire' as a potential landing site. The aircraft impacted terrain in the bottom of a shallow (+12 degree sloped) bowl in mountainous/hilly terrain throughout which a controlled burn was underway. The left wing outboard leading edge impacted first, followed by the engine and there was no post-crash aircraft related fire. The landing gear were down and the flaps were retracted. The tach at the accident site read a total of 6.6 hours from the Boise departure reading. Less than a pint of fuel was extracted from the aircraft's fuel system and there was no evidence of fuel leakage/staining on the aircraft. The pilot operating handbook performance data section showed the highest cruise fuel burn rate for the aircraft's engine was about 15.2 gallons/hour. Documentation found within the aircraft tracking tach times, fuel, location(s) and date from 1996 forward referenced fuel burn rates ranging as high as 19.0 gallons/hour.
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: 3,400 hours in all; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,842 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2001; 293.9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-L3C5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3V5 Fort Collins CO
- Destination: BOI Boise ID
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 080° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 am from MUO, 27 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.