Beechcraft B200 N337MT

Summary

On 9 November 2009 at about 15:09 local time, a Beechcraft B200 registered N337MT, operated by Mdtr Holdings LLC, was involved in an accident near Greer, South Carolina, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 November 2009 at 15:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Greer, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Greenville Spartanburg Int. (GSP)

Coordinates

34.8794, -82.2303

Aircraft

Beechcraft B200

Registration

N337MT

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Mdtr Holdings LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greer → Greer

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10LA056

3 people were seriously injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot’s failure to visually verify that sufficient fuel was onboard prior to flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot flew the airplane to a maintenance facility and turned it in for a phase inspection. The next morning, he arrived at the airport and planned a local flight to evaluate some avionics issues. He performed a preflight inspection and then went inside the maintenance facility to wait for two avionic technicians to arrive. In the meantime, two employees of the maintenance facility test ran the engines on the accident airplane for about 30 to 35 minutes in preparation for the phase inspection. The pilot reported that he was unaware that the engine run had been performed when he returned to the airplane for the local flight. He referred to the flight management system (FMS) fuel totalizer, and not the aircraft fuel gauges, when he returned to the airplane for the flight. He believed that the mechanics who ran the engines did not power up the FMS, which would have activated the fuel totalizer, thus creating a discrepancy between the totalizer and the airplane fuel gauges. The mechanics who performed the engine run reported that each tank contained 200 pounds of fuel at the conclusion of the engine run. The B200 Pilot’s Operating Handbook directed pilots not take off if the fuel quantity gauges indicate in the yellow arc or indicate less than 265 pounds of fuel in each main tank system. While on final approach, about 23 minutes into the flight, the right engine lost power, followed by the left. The pilot attempted to glide to the runway with the landing gear and flaps retracted, however the airplane crashed short of the runway. Only residual fuel was found in the main and auxiliary fuel tanks during the inspection of the wreckage. The tanks were not breached and there was no evidence of fuel leakage at the accident site.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.