Fuel starvation proves fatal for pilot

On March 21, 2020, a Cessna 310 was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Charleston, South Carolina. The pilot died in the crash.

On March 18, 2020, the pilot departed Zephyrhills Municipal Airport in Florida and landed at South Jersey Regional Airport in Mount Holly, New Jersey. The Cessna 310 remained on the ramp until March 21, 2020, when the pilot departed for Zephyrhills.

The pilot landed at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport in North Carolina for fuel and then continued the flight to Zephyrhills on an instrument flight rules flight plan. An airport lineman stated that, per the pilot’s request, he filled all four of the fuel tanks.

A review of air traffic control communications and radar data revealed that, about 1852, the airplane was enroute to ZPH at an altitude of about 8,000 feet mean sea level (msl). About that time, the pilot notified air traffic control that the airplane was experiencing a loss of engine power and he needed to land immediately at the nearest airport. The controller provided the pilot with radar vectors to Charleston Executive Airport in South Carolina, and then asked the pilot which engine he was having problems with. The pilot told him, “should be my left but having problems with both engines.”

The controller continued to provided radar vectors to the pilot for Runway 9 at the airport, but radar contact with the airplane was lost about 1/4-mile northwest of the approach end of the runway.

Two witnesses reported hearing the airplane as it flew overhead shortly before the accident. They said the airplane’s engines were increasing and decreasing in their rpm, and that the engines sounded as if they were being starved of fuel.

The airplane came to rest in a densely forested area near the airport. The fuselage was inverted and both wings, as well as the horizontal stabilizer, were separated. The debris field was contained within 20 yards of the main wreckage and there was no fire. All four fuel tanks were damaged, and there was fuel pooled around the main wreckage.

The wreckage was recovered from the accident site and examined in detail at a salvage storage facility. Examination of the airframe and engines showed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunction or failure.

Both fuel selectors were found in the auxiliary tank position.

Data from a Garmin GDU 1060 showed that when the Cessna 310 was at a cruise altitude around 8,000 feet msl, the fuel flow for both engines was around 13.9 gallons per hour.

During this initial portion of the flight, the fuel quantity in the main fuel tanks was gradually decreasing. That was followed by the fuel quantity in the left and right  auxillary fuel tanks decreasing. Then the fuel quantities of the main fuel tanks stopped decreasing and began to slowly increase for the remainder of the flight.

When the fuel quantity in the left auxiliary fuel tank decreased below 1 gallon, the fuel flow to the left engine began erratically decreasing until reaching less than 1 gallon per hour.

As the altitude began to decrease below 8,000 feet msl, the right auxiliary fuel tank quantity decreased below 1 gallon, and the right engine fuel flow also began an erratic decrease, with the final recorded data indicating a fuel flow of about 4 gallons per hour.

Probable Cause: The pilot’s fuel mismanagement during flight, resulting in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

NTSB Identification: 101100

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This March 2020 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.