Cessna T337D N33N

Summary

On 1 September 2002 at about 16:53 local time, a Cessna T337D registered N33N was involved in an accident near Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

1 September 2002 at 16:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Pierce, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Pierce (FPR)

Coordinates

27.4950, -80.3683

Aircraft

Cessna T337D

Registration

N33N

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Lauderdale → Fort Pierce

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA02LA165

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's misjudgment of the fuel supply, and subsequent fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he estimated that at takeoff the airplane had about 35 gallons of fuel on board, and after about 45 minutes, while in cruise flight, at an altitude of 4500 feet, the front engine suddenly ceased operating. He stated that he had experienced problems in the past with water in the fuel tanks, so he did not declare an emergency, even after unsuccessful attempts to restart the engine. He said the airplane was maintaining 120 knots, and fully controllable while being only powered by the rear engine. He said that in his mind, it was only water in the left tank, and his destination, Fort Pierce, Florida, was only 10 miles away, so he continued to his destination. After contacting FAA Fort Pierce Air traffic Control Tower, the pilot said that he then entered a right base, turned on to the final approach course for an approach to land on runway 09, lowered his landing gear, set 10 degrees of flaps, and was on final at about 600 feet altitude, when all of a sudden the rear engine ceased operating. He said the only area to land was a small field on the right, so he turned 90 degrees, and entered a dive to prevent the airplane from stalling. The aircraft impacted in an orange grove, rebounded once, and then stopped in a canal. The pilot stated the engines failed due to fuel "starvation", and added that "the airplane had not been loaded with enough fuel..." Prior to the accident, the pilot said that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions to the airplane or to any of its systems.The FAA Inspector who responded to the accident scene stated that during his examination he discovered no fuel in the fuel tanks, and mimimal fuel at the scene.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.