Beechcraft B23 N6991Q

Summary

On 18 June 2011 at about 15:00 local time, a Beechcraft B23 registered N6991Q, operated by Desert Oasis Veterinary Enterprises LLC, was involved in an accident near Jean, Nevada, 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

18 June 2011 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Jean, Nevada, United States

Coordinates

35.7986, -115.2786

Aircraft

Beechcraft B23

Registration

N6991Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Desert Oasis Veterinary Enterprises LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Henderson → Henderson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11LA263

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s improper in-flight fuel management when he did not switch to the fullest fuel tank when the engine began to lose power, which resulted in fuel starvation and the complete loss of engine power during maneuvering flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of knowledge of the engine's fuel consumption rate and the inaccurate fuel flow calculations that led to an inaccurate fuel quantity prior to takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the student pilot, while returning to his home base, he established the airplane in a slow flight configuration. About five minutes later, while he was still performing the slow flight maneuver, the engine began to run rough. The pilot then noticed that the left fuel gauge was indicating less than 1/4 full, and the right tank gauge was indicating over 1/2 full; the engine then lost power. Because he was about 500 feet above the ground when the engine lost power, he did not attempt to restart the engine, nor did he switch the fuel selector to the right tank. The pilot attempted to stretch the glide to the lakebed, but he was unable to do so, and the airplane touched down in an area of soft sand and sagebrush. A postaccident examination of the airplane determined that the left fuel tank was empty, and an undetermined amount of fuel was in the right tank. The pilot miscalculated the fuel burn and relied on his inaccurate fuel gauges to determine the pretakeoff fuel quantity.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.