Beechcraft K35 N3067C

Summary

On 18 June 2005 at about 14:30 local time, a Beechcraft K35 registered N3067C was involved in an accident near Apple Valley, California, United States. 2 people were 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

18 June 2005 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Apple Valley, California, United States

Nearest airport

Apple Valley (APV)

Coordinates

34.7500, -117.0000

Aircraft

Beechcraft K35

Registration

N3067C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Phoenix → Fresno

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05LA209

1 person had minor injuries.

fuel starvation due to the pilot's inadequate in-flight fuel system management and failure to set the fuel selector valve to a tank containing fuel. A factor was the ditch that the aircraft encountered.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane's wing collided with a post during a forced landing on a road after a loss of engine power, and the airplane went into a ditch. The pilot was on a cross-country flight when the engine began sputtering. The pilot thought that he had a fuel problem. The fuel pressure began to vary. The pilot switched fuel tanks, turned on the auxiliary fuel pump, and richened the mixture. He noted that the fuel flow stabilized briefly, and then it started varying again. Shortly thereafter, the engine quit, and the pilot made a forced landing on a dirt road. At that time, he turned the fuel pump off, and made the landing with the gear down and flaps extended. The airplane touched down successfully on the main landing gear. During the rollout, a wing clipped a metal post, which spun the airplane into a ditch. The nose wheel collapsed, and the wing sustained substantial damage. Recovery personnel drained 15 gallons of fuel from each of the main wing tanks. They found no fuel in the auxiliary fuel tanks, which can contain a maximum of 19 gallons of usable fuel according to the manufacturer's systems description. Post accident examination revealed that the fuel selector was in the auxiliary fuel tank position. The fuel boost pump was in the emergency or HI position. A fuel supply was plumbed into the left wing fuel inlet. The engine was started, and it ran smoothly at various power settings for 15 minutes, including several times at full power. The engine displayed good response to throttle movements and exhibited no hesitation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.