A pilot was injured and a passenger seriously injured when the Beech A36 plane lost engine power during a practice instrument approach to Fort Worth Meacham International Airport (KFTW) in Texas.
The airline transport certificated pilot made an off-airport forced landing in a field five miles southeast of KFTW. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward portion of the fuselage.
The pilot told an FAA inspector that before departing the airport in Angel Fire, N.M., both fuel tanks were 3/4 full. He said he maintained fuel balance by switching between the left and right tanks “several times” during the flight.
As he approached the DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) TCA (Terminal Control Area), he requested and received vectors for a practice ILS (instrument landing system) Runway 34 approach to KFTW. Following slower traffic, he requested termination of the approach and said he would continue on to KGKY.
Shortly after climbing to 1,500 feet, the engine lost power. The pilot switched the fuel selector “to the other tank” and attempted to restart the engine, but to no avail.
He failed to turn on the electric boost pump (as required in the emergency checklist) and that, because of the airplane’s low altitude, he did not have time to refer to the emergency checklist. He lowered the landing gear, but elected not to lower the flaps for landing. The airplane touched down on soft earth, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane nosed down.
An FAA inspector inspected the wreckage and sumped clear, bright fuel from the airplane’s left fuel tank that appeared to be free of contaminants. The fuel gauges indicated slightly more than 1/4 full in the left fuel tank, but the right tank was empty.
Visual inspection of the tanks revealed a small, unknown fuel quantity in the left tank and the right fuel tank was empty. The fuel selector was positioned on the left tank.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in fuel starvation and a loss of engine power.
This January 2019 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.
Had an unexpected engine shutdown. Throttle back,, switched tanks, hit the electric auxiliary pump, restart…
All total about 3 seconds. Maybe that’s the “what to do now?” difference between an ATP and mechanic….😆
Could also be the difference between my carb and his injection trying to purge.
A Beech A36 standard tanks hold 44 gallons of usable fuel, so 3/4 tanks is 33 gallons.
With a fuel burn of 11.5 to 15 gph , there was 2.8 to 2.2 hours of fuel, so trying to fly for 2.5 hours was very risky.
The NTSB note of about 1/4 fuel in the left tank is 5.5 gallons, enough for about 25 minutes….and this pilot has a lot of experience is various aircraft, and claims he left out 11 gallons to ‘ensure sufficient climb performance’…FOOL! did 66 lbs make that much difference ? I doubt it.!
KAXX is above 6000′ MSL. I don’t have the books for a Beech A36. Runway is listed at 8900′ today with FF (16JAN21). And I didn’t see any specifics on the W/B other than they were w/in limits with pax in front seat. BTW — NTSB info lists this plane as belonging to the pilot.
So, I wonder if that 66lbs would have put him out of limits.
This kind of preflight planning mistake causes our aircraft insurance costs to increase every time this happens.
A lot of mistakes for an alleged ATP to make…