Beechcraft A36 N47JB

Summary

On 30 April 2022 at about 18:00 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N47JB was involved in an accident near Blanket, Texas, United States. 2 people were 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

30 April 2022 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Blanket, Texas, United States

Coordinates

31.8600, -98.7800

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N47JB

Category

Airplane

Year built

1998

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greenville → Brownwood

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA189

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to properly manage fuel while enroute, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation 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 reported that he departed with “just over half a tank of fuel in each tank,” which matched the indications on the fuel gauges. He reported that he decided not to “top off” the fuel tanks for the flight of about one hour and twenty-minutes as he had about 40 gallons of fuel on board. The pilot reported that the takeoff and en route portions of the flight were normal. As the airplane descended to 6,000 ft above mean seal level, and with the destination airport in sight, the engine lost power. The pilot “immediately pulled the yoke back to best glide,” selected a grass field for the landing, and began the engine out checklist. The pilot reported that he switched fuel tanks during the engine out procedure. After he completed the checklist twice, with no success at restarting the engine, he maneuvered the airplane and performed a forced landing to a field. During the forced landing, the nose gear collapsed, and the right wing sustained substantial damage. During a postaccident examination, no fuel was found in the right fuel tank and about 5.5 gallons of fuel was found in the left fuel tank (per the airframe manufacturer, 3 gallons in each fuel tank is classified as unusable). Both fuel tanks were found intact, along with the airframe and engine fuel lines. Both fuel tank caps appeared normal and were found installed properly. There was no evidence of a fuel leak or spillage on the airframe or at the accident site. There were no odors of fuel at the accident site. The fuel tank selector was found at the right fuel tank position. The fuel line to the fuel pressure regulator and the fuel injection distribution manifold was opened and there was no visible fuel found in the line. The investigation could not determine the amount of fuel onboard before the accident flight. Based on the available evidence, it is likely the engine lost power due to the low level of fuel available in the right fuel tank due to the pilot’s improper fuel management.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.