Pilot Debrief

Beech 23 near Panama City, FL — 2019-09-10

Final reportERA19TA276
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Date
2019-09-10
Location
Panama City, FL, USA
Airport
ECP
Aircraft
Beech 23
Registration
N3555R
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

A total loss of engine power due to an obstructed fuel vent, and the flight instructor's failure to ensure that the student did an adequate preflight inspection, which resulted in a forced landing.

NTSB narrative

After returning from a roundtrip, cross-country flight, the student pilot and flight instructor were conducting airport pattern work, go-arounds, and touch-and-go landings. After a normal go-around due to excessive crosswinds, they initiated a no-flap landing for the next attempt. As the student pilot established the airplane on short final, he attempted to arrest the airplane’s descent by increasing engine power, but the engine did not respond. The instructor told the student pilot to “push it back in to add power,” and the student pilot pulled and pushed the throttle several times to try to increase engine power. After several unsuccessful attempts to increase engine power, the instructor took control of the airplane and attempted a forced landing. The airplane touched down short of the runway, bounced hard, and struck the landing lights before landing back on the runway. The airplane’s airframe sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed an obstructed right trailing edge fuel vent line that likely blocked venting of the fuel tank and resulted a negative pressure within the tank, whichsubsequently starved the engine of fuel and resulted a total loss of engine power. The airplane's flight manual specified that during a preflight inspection, the fuel vent line should be checked for any obstructions, but the flight instructor did not witness the student pilot conduct the preflight inspection of the airplane. It is likely that the student pilot did not detect the blocked vent line during the preflight inspection; had more direct supervision been provided by the flight instructor during the preflight inspection, the blockage would have been discovered.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Preflight inspection should have checked fuel vent line for obstructions.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents6

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