Beechcraft B36TC N8234M

Summary

On 27 May 2012 at about 15:10 local time, a Beechcraft B36TC registered N8234M was involved in an accident near Santa Ynez, 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

27 May 2012 at 15:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Ynez, California, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Ynez (IZA)

Coordinates

34.5983, -120.0822

Aircraft

Beechcraft B36TC

Registration

N8234M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Barbara → Mammoth Lakes

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12LA246

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power during initial climb due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident were the pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, his failure to properly diagnose the loss of engine power, and his failure to follow the appropriate emergency procedures.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A few days before the accident, the private pilot requested that the airplane be serviced with equal quantities of fuel in each wing tank. The ramp agent instead filled the left tank close to capacity and did not put any fuel in the right tank. The pilot was not aware of the discrepancy, and during the preflight inspection, he checked the fuel tank levels using the wing-mounted sight gauges. However, he misread the right tank quantity and continued the preflight inspection even though the fuel quantity gauges in the cabin did not match the sight gauges. The sight gauge design allows for the display of fuel quantity only when the tank is filled to between 25 and 35 gallons (about 1/2 to 3/4 full). However, when the tank is filled to 1/4 of its capacity or less, the tail of the gauge needle points to the 32 gallon (3/5 capacity) position. This most likely accounted for the pilot’s misinterpretation of the fuel level. During the initial climb, with the right fuel tank selected, the engine lost all power. The pilot failed to recognize the fuel starvation condition and performed troubleshooting steps by memory before ultimately switching the fuel tank selector valve to the left tank, which was full. The pilot’s troubleshooting procedures included multiple activations of the auxiliary fuel pump on HI mode, which, according to the airplane manufacturer’s emergency checklist, was not the appropriate action for a fuel starvation condition. The use of the pump resulted in an excessively rich fuel mixture when the left tank was selected and prevented the engine from being restarted. The pilot then switched back to the empty fuel tank and performed a gear-up forced landing into a plowed field.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.