Cessna 402 N900CR

Summary

On 18 October 2017 at about 19:45 local time, a Cessna 402 registered N900CR, operated by Noble Air Charter Inc, was involved in an accident near St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. 4 people were on board and 2 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 October 2017 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Petersburg, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Albert Whitted (SPG)

Coordinates

27.7519, -82.6531

Aircraft

Cessna 402

Registration

N900CR

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

2

Operator

Noble Air Charter Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tampa → Sarasota

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA011

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's mismanagement of the onboard fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation, a total loss of power to both engines, and a subsequent forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on the non-scheduled passenger flight with one passenger onboard; the flight was the 3rd leg of a 4-leg trip. About 13 minutes after departure, he advised air traffic control that the airplane was “fuel critical” and requested vectors to the nearest airport, which was about 7 miles away. Both engines subsequently lost total power and the pilot performed a forced landing on a street about 2 miles from the airport, during which the airplane collided with two vehicles. Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the fuel tanks, with evidence of a small fire near the left wingtip fuel tank. Fuel consumption calculations revealed that the airplane would have used about 100 gallons of fuel since its most recent refueling, which was the capacity of the main (wingtip) tanks. Both fuel selectors were found in their respective main tank positions. Given the available information, it is likely that the pilot exhausted all the fuel in the main fuel tanks and starved the engines of fuel. Although the total amount of fuel on board at the start of the flight could not be determined, had all tanks been full, the airplane would have had about 63 gallons remaining in the two auxiliary tanks at the time of the accident. The auxiliary fuel tanks were breached during the accident and quantity of fuel they contained was not determined. Examination of the engines revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.