The Beech 35 was recently purchased by the copilot. The pilot traveled from out of state to help the copilot fly the airplane from Chambers County Airport (T00) in Anahuac, Texas, to the copilot’s hangar at Airpark East Airport (1F7) in Dallas, a distance of about 200 nautical miles.
The day before the accident, a pre-buy/annual inspection was performed by a mechanic on the airplane with no issues noted in the maintenance records.
The copilot reported that the generator was not functioning and the placard on the fuel selector was present.
The airplane was topped off with 100 low lead fuel. According to the copilot, the left fuel tank contained 17 gallons, the right fuel tank contained 17 gallons, and the auxiliary fuel tank in the baggage compartment contained 20 gallons for a total of 54 gallons.
On the day of the accident, the pilot and copilot performed traffic pattern maneuvers and no issues were noted with the airplane except for the inoperative generator. They then departed for 1F7.
During the flight, both pilots flew the airplane. The copilot reported that the fuel gauges “worked normally,” that the carburetor heat was not on during the flight, and that they were running the engine “rich” during the flight “in order to keep the engine cylinders cool.”
About 43 minutes into the flight, the fuel in the left fuel tank was “depleted,” and the pilots switched to the right fuel tank with no issues. The pilot was concerned about “maximizing” the airplane’s fuel capacity and suggested using the auxiliary fuel tank. The copilot switched to the auxiliary fuel tank and a total loss of engine power occurred.
The copilot then switched the fuel selector to its “opposite position,” but the engine did not regain power. The copilot switched back to the right fuel tank with no change noted.
The pilots then initiated the emergency restart procedure, and they used the hand fuel pump as they attempted to restart the engine five or six times with no success.
The pilot transferred the flight controls to the copilot for the forced landing. The copilot maneuvered the airplane through a canopy of several trees, and the airplane came to rest upright on a grass field on a ranch near Palestine, Texas.
The pilot died in the crash and the copilot sustained serious injuries. He was able to get out of the airplane and called first responders with his cell phone.
Examination of the copilot’s cell phone at the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) Vehicle Records Laboratory revealed that during the accident flight, the copilot sent a text message to the previous airplane owner asking what position on the fuel selector was for the auxiliary fuel tank. The co-pilot received three text messages from the mechanic describing three positions for the fuel selector.
During a post-accident examination the fuel selector was found with the handle between the OFF and LEFT positions and pulled up in the hand pump position about 1/4 inch. The fuel selector placard depicting the position selection and operation of the fuel selector was not observed in the wreckage.
Neither wing fuel tank contained observable fuel levels on scene. An auxiliary fuel tank that was installed in the baggage compartment also contained zero fuel and was not breached. There was no evidence of fuel spillage, smell, or vegetation blighting at the accident site.
Both wing fuel tank bladders were leak checked using water. The right-wing bladder was not breached. The fuel drain valve leaked at a rate of about 1 drop every 5 seconds. The left-wing bladder was punctured by a fracture in the inboard wing rib. The puncture was roughly in the lower one-third between the upper and lower surfaces of the bladder and 2 to 3 inches from the aft wall of the bladder. The puncture measured approximately 1/2 inch in length and produced a steady and noticeable stream of water during the leak test.
The fuel lines appeared to be intact through the cabin to the firewall. No evidence of external fuel leaks was observed on the skin of the airplane.
Probable Cause: A total loss of engine power due to the flight crew incorrectly placing the fuel selector between fuel tank detents, which resulted in fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a placard on the fuel selector, the lack of obvious fuel tank detents in the fuel selector, and the flight crew’s lack of understanding of proper fuel selector operation.
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This March 2021 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.
It’s quite possible I’m missing something, but if there was no fuel found in any of the tanks then what would fuel selector position have to do with anything? There’s no way all the tanks could have been full when this plane left for a 200 mile flight unless the tank cap was left off. Nothing here makes sense to me?
An annual/pre-purchase with no items found?????
Unless you are have a lot of altitude, don’t waste your time trying to start a hot engine.
200 miles should not have used more than 18 gallons of fuel.
Not understanding the need to manually select fuel tanks. Why can’t they drain simultaneously? Manual A-B fuel tank selection went out of style with the 1949 Volkswagon. I’ve been told that the way the VW driver knew to switch tanks was when the engine quit — no fuel gauge. When that happens in the air, people die.
Guess the guys were anxious to have a ride in their new purchase. Can’t waste time getting to know every nook and crannie of the machine. Like getting married right after the first blind date. RIP man who died.
Regards/J
Actually some POH calls for running a tank dry. There are also a number of problems trying to interconnect non gravity discharge tanks.
High wing aircraft with a carburetor can select both tanks, since gravity will cause fuel to flow from both, so there is no need for a fuel pump. [ a very reliable setup ].
On a low wing aircraft there is no gravity fuel flow, so a fuel pump is used to pull fuel from one tank, usually a mechanical pump operated by the engine.
A ‘both’ selection can’t be used because once one tank has no more usable fuel , the pump will pull air from that tank, vs fuel from the other.
A solution would be to install an electric pump in each tank, but that requires electrical power, so if the electrical system fails the engine will run only as long as the battery can supply power….not a good design idea.
I suspect that the A&P did a ‘pencil whip’ on the annual, and now has to explain the discrepancies.!
Maybe, more like the 2 point, lap belt allowed the pilot to crash his head into the yoke, and panel. A 4 point shoulder harness should be required for the front seats.
The cockpit looks to be intact, so no reason for a pilot to die….very sad.!
Plus, there is no way to use 54 gallons of fuel on a 200 nm flight. !