Beechcraft V35B N25643

Summary

On 19 June 1997 at about 11:35 local time, a Beechcraft V35B registered N25643 was involved in an accident near Kaiser, Missouri, 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

19 June 1997 at 11:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Kaiser, Missouri, United States

Coordinates

38.1306, -92.5801

Aircraft

Beechcraft V35B

Registration

N25643

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Kirksville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

CHI97LA173

1 person had minor injuries.

was fuel starvation for undetermined reasons. A factor was the failure of the pilot to refuel the aircraft.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during his preflight he inspected the fuel cap and visually checked that there was fuel in the left tank. The pilot stated, 'Upon pushing on the wing, I determined that I could both hear and see fuel in the tank. It was low, but not wanting to add more fuel until we tested the fuel cap, I elected to leave it as was.' The pilot reported that during engine run up he, 'placed the [fuel selector] lever on the right tank for takeoff, knowing the left tank has the least amount of fuel on board.' The pilot reported that at approximately 800 feet he, 'felt a hesitation and then the engine totally failed.' The pilot stated that he then began to initiate a forced landing into a nearby corn field. Post crash investigation of the airplane showed that there were 31 gallons of fuel in the right tank and zero gallons of fuel in the left tank. It was also confirmed that there was no indication of a post crash fuel leak or spill. Further investigation of the fuel injection system showed that the spider valve was void of fuel. Bench testing of the engine confirmed that the engine would start-up and run if supplied with fuel. It was also found that the Beech V35B was placarded that there should be 13 gallons of fuel in both tanks before flight is attempted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.