Pilot Debrief

BEECH H35 near LaCrosse, WA — 2022-07-01

Final reportWPR22LA247
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Date
2022-07-01
Location
LaCrosse, WA, USA
Aircraft
BEECH H35
Registration
N5546D
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to monitor and manage the fuel supply, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

NTSB narrative

The pilot of the airplane reported that, he departed with a total of 50 gallons of fuel for a cross-country flight. After about 1.5 hours, as the airplane approached the destination airport, the fuel-injected engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot switched the fuel selector valve from the right main fuel tank to the left main fuel tank and attempted to restart the engine, to no avail. The airplane impacted upsloping terrain during the forced landing, which resulted in the engine separating from the firewall. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have resulted in the loss of engine power. According to the manufacturer, the unusable fuel in each main fuel tank is 3 gallons. The fuel recovered from the right and left main tanks were about 2 and 4 gallons, respectively. A total of about 16.5 gallons was recovered from the main and auxiliary fuel tanks combined. It is likely that the pilot did not properly monitor the fuel supply during the cross-country flight, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have checked fuel levels before departure to ensure adequate fuel for flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents6

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