According to the pilot of the twin-engine Beech 58TC, he descended from 7,000′ and leveled off at 3,000′. After leveling off, the fuel quantity indicators fluctuated, then showed empty.
He recalled that, about five minutes after leveling off, the right engine began to run very roughly, so he enriched the right engine’s mixture and activated the auxiliary fuel pump.
He added that “the right engine failed and the left engine simultaneously began losing power.”
He declared an emergency, began receiving vectors, and the left engine lost power.
He then pitched the plane for best glide distance. He selected the nearest suitable landing area, extended the landing gear and flaps, and landed the airplane in a field near Valdosta, Georgia.
During the landing roll, he turned the airplane to the right to avoid a collision with obstacles, and the nose landing gear bounced several times and separated from the airplane.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage bulkheads, longerons, and stringers.
The pilot believed that, due to his failure to visually check the fuel level, he overestimated the amount of fuel on board.
Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to ensure that adequate fuel was onboard for the flight, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power.
NTSB Identification: GAA17CA058
This November 2016 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
As a student pilot, I am constantly bewildered by other student pilots asking me as I’m handing off the keys to the same plane “how much fuel is left in the tanks”?
I would never take anyone’s word as to how much fuel is left in my tanks. My instructor didn’t think it was much of an issue that other students would ask sich a thing. Foolish!
I just have to wonder if these pilots have a habit of running out of fuel when driving their cars or is it only in airplanes that they do not pay attention to how much fuel they have when they begin a long trip? Just how is it that they can afford an aircraft that costs several hundred thousand and yet show such stupidity and carelessness to not even take a moment to do a simple visual check of their fuel supply? Was it pouring rain at the departure point and they did not want to risk contamination with water by opening the tanks or was he just in a hurry and he thinks he ordered the plane fueled when he last flew it? I think that these are all valid questions that should be asked and answered in these cases of fuel exhaustion.
My plane doesn’t have feathers, so I need to ensure it has plenty of fuel for each flight
Here we go again. I really find it just unbelievable that there are so any intelligent(?) human beings out there that will jump into a machine and fly thousands of feet in the air without checking fuel quantities.
Agreed. Would a scuba diver ever hit the depths without bothering to check his air tanks?? Pilots need to take the same attitude.