Modesto City-County Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Modesto, California 95350
Thursday, June 6, 1996 20:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After takeoff, the pilot was on climbout when the engine suddenly quit and he was forced to make an emergency landing. He said he had taken off with half fuel and had flown with the fuel boost pump switch in the on position. An aircraft mechanic examined the accident aircraft and found approximately 3 ounces of fuel at the left tank drain valve and an additional 0.5 gallon at the right tank drain valve. He also found about two drops of fuel in the fuel injection servo, but there was no fuel at the firewall line fitting. The fuel selector was in the off position. He said that it is a common practice for fire department personnel to turn the fuel selector off after an aircraft is involved in an accident. He did not observe any evidence of fluid leaks or discontinuity in the fuel system.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/6/1996
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2030
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City MODESTO
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95350
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport MODESTO CITY-COUNTY FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MOD
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 97
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1948 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID MOD
Elevation of weather observation facility 97
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 36
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1641
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 6 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2045
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N102KB
NTSB Number LAX96LA221
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model 23-A24R
Aircraft Series Identifier 23-A24R
Aircraft Serial Number MC-45
Certified Max Gross Weight 2750
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 19 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 14
Airframe Hours 3244
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOHN J. BRANNIGAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2200 CROWS LANDING ROAD
Aircraft Owner City MODESTO
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95358
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code MOD
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 2030
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 28L
Runway Length 3459
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --