Beechcraft A23 N3680Q

Summary

On 16 January 2016 at about 16:10 local time, a Beechcraft A23 registered N3680Q was involved in an accident near Kingston, Tennessee, 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

16 January 2016 at 16:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Kingston, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Riley Creek (12TN)

Coordinates

35.8236, -84.5389

Aircraft

Beechcraft A23

Registration

N3680Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kingston → Kingston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Not Reported

NTSB number

ERA16LA090

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and fuel planning and his improper in-flight fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot performed maintenance on the airplane about 2 weeks before the accident, which included replacing the fuel tank cap O-rings and draining the fuel from the left tank and putting it in the right fuel tank in order to clear debris from the left tank sump valve. Following that work, the pilot believed that the airplane's right fuel tank contained about 28 gallons of fuel and the left fuel tank contained about 1.5 gallons. On the morning of the accident flight, he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane but could not recall if he visually verified the fuel quantity in each tank. After flying around the local area for about an hour with the fuel selector positioned to the right fuel tank, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot performed a forced landing, during which the airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that he kept the fuel selector positioned to the right fuel tank for the entirety of the flight and did not select the left fuel tank after the loss of engine power because he believed it only contained 1.5 gallons of fuel. Examination of the airplane after the accident revealed that the fuel selector was in the right fuel tank position, both fuel tanks were intact, and the right fuel tank was empty. The left tank contained about 7 gallons of fuel. A cursory postaccident examination of the engine found no evidence of any mechanical deficiencies. Given that the pilot used the right fuel tank for the entirety of the flight and that the right fuel tank was found intact and empty after the accident, it is likely that the loss of engine power was the result of fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.