Cessna 177RG accident near Grass Valley, CA
On May 1, 2025, a Cessna 177RG (airplane) was involved in an accident near Grass Valley, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 1, 2025
- Place
- Grass Valley, CA
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177RG · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 39.223°N, 121.036°W
- NTSB ID
- 20250501200089
Official records · WPR25FA146
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Audio File: Audio recording (MP3), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
History of Flight On May 1, 2025, about 0820 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 177RG airplane, N52156, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Grass Valley, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. According to ADS-B data for the flight, the airplane departed Auburn Municipal Airport (AUN), Auburn, California, at 0805 and climbed to about 4,400 ft en route to Nevada County Airport (GOO), Grass Valley, California. A review of archived audio from the GOO CTAF and a witness report revealed that the pilot first reported the airplane’s position about 4 miles south of GOO at traffic pattern altitude. About 3 minutes later, the pilot reported that his position was about 1/2 mile south of the airport and that he would be crossing midfield and entering the left downwind for runway 07. The pilot subsequently reported his left downwind and left base turns for the runway. About 30 seconds after reporting his left base turn, the pilot reported, “Nevada County, mayday, mayday, mayday, I have lost engine.” The witness that heard the pilot make radio calls noted that there was no indication of engine trouble until the mayday call was made. The witnesses said that in every transmission the pilot seemed calm and professional and had good situational awareness. The ADS-B data showed that the airplane’s flight track discontinued the left base-to-final turn and instead made a right turn to the south, away from the airport and likely toward a clear area to conduct an emer
Probable cause
An improperly tightened B-nut fitting at the fuel flow divider, which resulted in a fuel leak and loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, and the inadequate maintenance inspection, which failed to detect and correct the discrepancy.
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Browse: California · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
