Air In The Tanks

I was flying my Cessna T210R Turbo Centurion from the Westchester County Airport (KHPN) in White Plains, N.Y., to the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (KPDK) in Atlanta, Ga., on a dark night. I departed KHPN IFR but encountered unlimited visibility over North Carolina and cancelled. Before takeoff, I observed line personnel fill both fuel tanks. I had planned to have an hours fuel reserve on landing at PDK, and there hadnt been any unforecast headwinds. However, as I passed over Greenville, S.C., at 12,500 feet, both fuel gauges showed the tanks nearly empty.

Editorial Staff

Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A pilot flying a Cessna T210R experienced an unexpected engine failure due to fuel exhaustion during a precautionary landing attempt, despite pre-flight checks indicating full tanks and sufficient reserves.
During the emergency landing, the aircraft stalled into treetops about a mile from the runway, resulting in significant damage to the plane but only minor injury to the pilot.
The mystery of the fuel shortage was later attributed to a specific Cessna 210 issue where air can be trapped in the fuel tanks, preventing them from being completely filled to their stated capacity.

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I was flying my Cessna T210R Turbo Centurion from the Westchester County Airport (KHPN) in White Plains, N.Y., to the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (KPDK) in Atlanta, Ga., on a dark night. I departed KHPN IFR but encountered unlimited visibility over North Carolina and cancelled. Before takeoff, I observed line personnel fill both fuel tanks. I had planned to have an hour’s fuel reserve on landing at PDK, and there hadn’t been any unforecast headwinds. However, as I passed over Greenville, S.C., at 12,500 feet, both fuel gauges showed the tanks nearly empty.

Wiggling the fuel gauge wires behind the panel sometimes fixes an inaccurate reading, but this time there was no change. While I was confident my fuel calculations were correct, I decided to make a precautionary landing. From 12,500 feet, I could spiral down to Greenville or descend for Toccoa, Ga., some 50 nm ahead. I chose Toccoa.