Pilot Debrief

BEECH A36 near Wellington, FL — 2013-09-23

Final reportERA13LA428
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Date
2013-09-23
Location
Wellington, FL, USA
Aircraft
BEECH A36
Registration
N40KG
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Descent

Probable cause

A total loss of engine power due to an interruption in fuel flow, which was most likely due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane while performing the subsequent forced landing to a wet roadway.

NTSB narrative

The pilot departed for a planned 4-hour instrument flight rules, cross-country flight, and about 5 hours 13 minutes into the flight, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that he then landed the airplane on a wet roadway and lost directional control as the wheels hydroplaned on the wet surface. The airplane subsequently struck a sign and electrical power pole, resulting in substantial damage. The quantity of fuel onboard the airplane at the time of the accident could not be determined due to damage sustained to the airframe during the accident. Although the pilot advised an air traffic controller during the forced landing, "I believe I ran out of fuel," at least 12 usable gallons should have remained based on the amount of fuel the pilot reported the airplane had before departing on the flight and the total fuel use calculated by an onboard fuel flow indicator. A postaccident test run of the engine showed that it started normally and ran with no anomalies noted. Download of non-volatile memory from an engine monitoring device showed that the loss of engine power was immediately preceded by a rise in exhaust gas temperature and a rapid reduction in fuel flow, consistent with an interruption of fuel flow. The pilot did not report the position of the fuel selector before the loss of engine power, and its preaccident position could not be determined because the pilot had selected it to the off position before egressing the airplane after the accident.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot should have diverted earlier when fuel was low, before descent.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ATC audio
  • FDR / data
  • Photos
  • 8 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents8

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