Cessna 170B accident near Ravensdale, Washington, April 24, 2022
On April 24, 2022 at about 1:20 am local time, a 1955 Cessna 170B, registered N4398B, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Ravensdale, Washington. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot’s inadequate fuel planning.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 24, 2022 · about 1:20 am local time
- Place
- Ravensdale, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170B, built 1955 · all 170Bs on the register
- Registration
- N4398B · registry record · serial 26742
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot flew and picked up a passenger for a cross-country flight with multiple intermediate legs and a return destination to his original departure airport. About 1 hour and 20 minutes into the accident leg, about 3,000 ft above the ground, the engine lost all power. The pilot restarted the engine, but it lost all power again about 30 seconds later. The pilot then maneuvered the airplane towards a road for a forced landing. The airplane struck treetops and came to rest upright on a riverbank. Recovery of the airplane revealed that less than a gallon of fuel was retrieved from the two 20-gallon wing fuel tanks. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical anomalies. The pilot stated that the engine consumed 12 gallons of fuel per hour and calculated that he had about 3 hours of flight time after filling the aircraft with 34–36 gallons of fuel. Fuel planning calculations revealed that at the time of the loss of engine power, the airplane flew for a total of about 2.8 hours and would have consumed about 42 gallons of fuel. It is likely that the pilot exhausted all usable fuel as he decided to divert to another airport without proper fuel planning.
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
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during emergency descent
- Fuel exhaustion during enroute defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 600 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,673 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 30, 2022
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A (piston); 5,673 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KR49 Republic WA at 11:30 pm
- Destination: WA77 Enumclaw WA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
9 documents, released by the NTSB on May 16, 2024. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Accident Photo | PDF, 7 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Mor-passenger | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Post Accident Engine Summary | PDF, 7 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Fuel Planning Calculations | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 6 | Temperature and Winds Aloft | spreadsheet | Download |
| 7 | ADS-B Kml File | map file | Download |
| 8 | ADS-B Csv Format | data file | Download |
| 9 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.