Cessna U206E accident near Oroville, California, May 10, 2009
On May 10, 2009 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Cessna U206E, registered N1457M, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Oroville, California. 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to an excessively lean mixture for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 10, 2009 · about 8:10 pm local time
- Place
- Oroville, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206E · all U206Es on the register
- Registration
- N1457M · registry record · serial U20601457
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane owner/pilot departed for a personal flight with 55 gallons of fuel in the airplane's fuel tanks. After flying for nearly 40 minutes all engine power was suddenly lost. The pilot reported that, because he was only 1,100 feet above the ground, he had limited time to attempt an engine restart. Therefore, the pilot concentrated on performing the forced landing. The pilot landed in an open field. During rollout on the uneven terrain, the nose gear collapsed and the firewall was bent. Subsequently, the airplane was recovered and examined and no anomalies were found. The engine was test run and no evidence of any mechanical malfunction was noted. The airplane was equipped with an engine monitoring system that retained various engine related operating parameters. The extracted nonvolatile memory data revealed that the engine's exhaust gas temperature peaked a few seconds before the fuel flow decreased to zero and all power was lost. The data was consistent with an interruption of fuel flow to the engine due to an overly lean mixture; however, the investigation could not determine the cause of the excessively lean mixture.
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
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Rough terrain › Contributed to outcome
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine fuel and control › (general) › Not specified
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 339 hours in all; 138 in this make and model; 3 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 244 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 8, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,010 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 5, 2008; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-550F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MYV Marysville CA at 7:30 pm
- Destination: MYV Marysville CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 100 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.79 inHg
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 WPR09LA237.