Beechcraft A36 N15278

Summary

On 28 September 1995 at about 06:48 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N15278, operated by Bradley A. Humphrey, was involved in an accident near Van Nuys, California, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 September 1995 at 06:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Van Nuys, California, United States

Nearest airport

Van Nuys (VNY)

Coordinates

34.1890, -118.4909

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N15278

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Bradley A. Humphrey

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Stockton → Torrance

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX95FA341

1 person had minor injuries.

the pilot's fuel mismanagement and failure to assure that an adequate supply of fuel was available. His lack of familiarity with the airplane's fuel system, overcofidence, the dark night, and the lack of a suitable landing area were factors in the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 70-hour student pilot was returning from a night cross-country flight when his home base airport went IFR. He diverted to another airport where the tower was closed. While descending in a 360-degree turn to lose altitude the engine quit. After switching tanks and turning the boost pump on he got a brief restart. After it quit again he switched tanks without a restart. Unable to reach the airport he descended into an unlighted spot in a residential area with the gear down and approach flaps. The airplane collided with trees into a residential backyard. According to the pilot's computer generated flight plan, he should have had 12.7 gallons of useable fuel remaining between the two stock fuel tanks. His electronic fuel computers non-volatile memory indicated 15.5 gallons remaining. There were minimal signs of fuel remaining at the accident scene. The student pilot had not been endorsed for the cross-country flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.