Beechcraft T-34B/D-45 N34NL

Summary

On 3 February 2002 at about 19:28 local time, a Beechcraft T-34B/D-45 registered N34NL was involved in an accident near San Simeon, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 February 2002 at 19:28

Classification

Accident

Location

San Simeon, California, United States

Coordinates

35.6901, -121.1992

Aircraft

Beechcraft T-34B/D-45

Registration

N34NL

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lemoore → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX02LA077

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's inadequate preflight of the airplane in which he failed to close the fuel drain resulting in a fuel leak and fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane lost engine power during cruise, made an emergency landing, and collided with a fence. The pilot conducted a preflight of the airplane and noted that the left and right fuel tanks were filled to the "caps." He noted no discrepancies with the airplane or fuel system during the preflight inspection. After flying for about 2 hours the airplane experienced a complete loss of engine power. While established on final for a road, he discovered that he was unable to slow down enough to avoid oncoming traffic and maneuvered the airplane to the right of the road. The left gear contacted the asphalt and the airplane continued through a cattle fence, collapsing the nose landing gear. U.S. Navy search and rescue personnel responded to the accident site, and noted that there was no fuel in the fuel tanks. The pilot did not have the fuel valve open during preflight. He was only able to get a small sample of fuel from the low point drain (LPD), which was the residual fuel in the lines from the previous flight. The pilot inadvertently locked the LPD in the up (open) position during preflight, which would result in fuel leaking from the airplane once he turned the fuel valve on.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.