Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Nut Tree Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Vacaville, California 95688
Thursday, August 21, 1997 17:05 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that the aircraft fuel gauges always read 'full,' so he checked his fuel visually and timed each tank. He stated that he took off with 38 gallons of fuel, with the fuel selector on the left tank, and switched to the right tank about 18 nautical miles from his final destination. While entering the traffic pattern, he heard a 'funny noise.' The pilot reported that he put the throttle forward but the engine didn't seem to respond. He retracted the flaps and turned for the runway. The aircraft crashed in a field approximately 1/4 mile from the end of the runway. The pilot reported to the police officer who responded to the site that he 'blew it and ran out of gas.' An FAA inspector examined the aircraft. The fuel selector was in the 'off' position and fuel was present at the carburetor inlet when the line was removed. The fuel was drained from the aircraft. The right tip tank was empty, but had been damaged in the accident; the right auxiliary tank held about 9 gallons, and the right main tank held about 14 gallons. The left tip tank held about 2 gallons; the left auxiliary tank held 6.5 gallons, and the left main tank held about 3/4 gallon. The inspector stated that the engine was examined and no mechanical problems were found. The aircraft Pilot's Operating Handbook states that the carburetor returns about 3 gallons per hour of excess fuel. Fuel return lines are routed through the selector valve to the left main cell. The auxiliary cells and right main cell return fuel to the left main cell only.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's mismanagement of the fuel supply which resulted in fuel starvation. A contributing factor was inoperative fuel gauges.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/21/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1705 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | VACAVILLE |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95688 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | NUT TREE |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | O45 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 20 |
| Airport Elevation | 114 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1655 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 120 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SUU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 51 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 25 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 32 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 220 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1853 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 21 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1838 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4689D |
| NTSB Number | LAX97LA298 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Beech |
| Aircraft Model | H35 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | H35 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | D4874 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3100 |
| 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 | Jul 1 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 13 |
| Airframe Hours | 4932 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | STEVE RHODES |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 123 WESTWOOD COURT |
| Aircraft Owner City | WINTERS |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 95694 |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | UKI |
| Departure City | UKIAH |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1630 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | O45 |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| 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 | 20 |
| Runway Length | 3800 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |