Pilot Debrief

BEECH E33A near Zena, OK — 2022-07-21

Final reportCEN22LA343
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Date
2022-07-21
Location
Zena, OK, USA
Aircraft
BEECH E33A
Registration
N7555N
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Cruise

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection and fuel planning, and improper in-flight decision making which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB narrative

After about 2.5 hours of cross-country night flight, the engine lost all power near an airport where the pilot planned to refuel. The pilot stated that he thought that he ran out of fuel and executed a forced landing to a vegetated field about 1 mile from the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and front of the fuselage. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical anomalies with the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The left-wing tank was found dry and the right fuel tank was found with about 1 inch of unusable fuel at the accident site. The fuel selector switch was found in the left fuel tank position. The pilot did not know how much fuel was onboard the airplane at the time of departure and had delayed refueling the airplane due to the price of fuel.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not check fuel levels before departure from Colorado Springs.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 4 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents4

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