A Cessna 210 briefly lost engine power after its fuel selector was mistakenly left on the right tank for multiple take-off and landings during night circuit training at Darwin Airport, an ATSB final report explains.
On board the Cessna T210M was an instructor from a training organisation, and a student, who owned the aircraft and was doing their first night visual flight rules training flight.
Prior to the training exercise, the instructor, who had not previously flown a turbo Cessna 210, had taken the aircraft up for a familiarisation flight. Afterwards, they dipped the fuel tanks, and assessed there was enough fuel for the planned night circuit training session.
ATSB Director of Transport Safety Dr Stuart Godley said the fuller right tank was correctly selected by the student to start the flight, but that they did not cycle between the two tanks as the exercise progressed.
"The student did not effectively conduct the pre-landing checks to monitor the fuel state of the aircraft," Dr Godley said.
"This was likely due to experiencing an increased workload during their first night flight in controlled airspace.
"In addition, the instructor had changed the configuration of the primary flight display during their familiarisation flight, making the fuel gauges display smaller and moving them to a location unfamiliar to the student."
The ATSB's final report notes the instructor identified the student had not changed tanks during the circuits - despite the requirement to always land on the fuller tank - and had intended to discuss this, but became focused instead on monitoring the student's performance, and forgot to brief the student on the required fuel tank selection.
After several circuits, the student turned the aircraft onto downwind, and the aircraft lost power.
A MAYDAY call was made and the instructor took control of the aircraft before initiating troubleshooting checks, and identifying the fuel selector was still on the right tank, which was likely empty.
The instructor then activated the electric fuel pump before selecting the left tank, which restored power to the engine.
The student then resumed control of the aircraft, and landed without further incident.
"Fuel starvation occurrences can often be prevented by conducting thorough pre-flight fuel quantity checks, and adequate in-flight fuel management," Dr Godley concluded.
"While pre-landing checks might be routine, they must never become perfunctory. Pilots must understand the purpose behind each check, and ensure the aircraft is properly configured for landing according to aircraft guidance."
You can find here the final report: Fuel starvation event involving Cessna T210M, VH-LLM, near Darwin Airport, Northern Territory, on 8 September 2025
