Cessna 177RG accident near Santa Paula, California, April 5, 2020
On April 5, 2020 at about 2:00 am local time, a 1976 Cessna 177RG, registered N98SW, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Santa Paula, California (Santa Paula airport). 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to ensure adequate fuel onboard for the planned flight, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 5, 2020 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Santa Paula, California · Santa Paula · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177RG No Series, built 1976 · all 177RGs on the register
- Registration
- N98SW · registry record · serial 177RG1090
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot planned to fly in the airport traffic pattern for about 30 minutes to maintain currency in his airplane, which he had not flown or refueled in several months. He used the fuel gauges to determine his fuel quantity, which he estimated to be about 10 gallons. The pilot did not look inside the fuel tanks to verify the fuel quantity; however, he did sump the tanks, which took three attempts before he observed water-free fuel samples. He did not observe any anomalies during the engine runup, after takeoff, or during the first three rounds in the airport traffic pattern. During the initial climb following his fourth touch-and-go maneuver, the pilot experienced a total loss of engine power at 100 ft above ground level. The pilot was unable to restore engine power during the descent, and the airplane impacted a dry riverbed and came to rest upright. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the stabilator. The fuel tanks were not breached, there were no obstructions in the fuel strainer, and no evidence of water contamination in the fuel system. About 2 gallons of fuel was recovered from the right wing tank, and the left wing tank was empty. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of a preexisting malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation, and a test run of the engine revealed no anomalies. The pilot did not check the fuel tanks before the flight to validate the fuel quantity indicated by the fuel gauges. As one fuel tank was devoid of fuel and the other fuel tank was nearly empty, he likely departed with an insufficient fuel level for the short flight.
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
- Fuel exhaustion during initial climb defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 955 hours in all; 162 in this make and model; 0.5 in the last 90 days; 0.2 in the last 30 days; 955 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 23, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,526 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 12, 2019; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D (piston); 3,347 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SZP Santa Paula CA at 2:00 am
- Destination: SZP Santa Paula CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 2,665 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 am, 8 miles away
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 WPR20LA117.