Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Palmdale, California 93590
Sunday, October 25, 1998 10:25 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that an annual inspection of the airplane had been completed 2 months earlier. The prior flight was flown from Chino, California, to Sacramento, California, and back to Chino without refueling after landing. The fuel computer/totalizer indicated that 58 gallons were left onboard following the trip. On the accident flight, the pilot leaned the mixture and engaged the autopilot after leveling out. A short time later, the engine began surging. The pilot enriched the mixture and turned the fuel boost on low, and the engine lost total power. He went through the emergency checklist, maintaining boost pump on and switching through the fuel tanks. After realizing he could not make the airport, he decided to land on a road and hit a truck. Examination of the wreckage revealed no fuel leaks were found in the lines or tanks. During disassembly, no fuel was found in the right main tank. Six gallons were in the left main tank; 7 gallons were in the left tip tank, and 2 gallons were in the right tip tank. The fuel selector was positioned to the left tip tank. A wet smear caked with dirt was present on the left tip tank from the filler port aft along the outboard side toward the trailing edge tip. The stopper type filler caps for the tip tanks were found loose in the filler ports. Also, the rubber stoppers were found to be cracked and deteriorated. The continuity of the fuel system was established. The aircraft master switch was energized and the sending unit floats were manipulated by hand and found that the gauges read high. The engine was restarted with the aid of serviceable propeller and fuel. The engine accelerated normally to 1,700 rpm where a magneto check was performed, and with a 60-rpm drop for both magnetos.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper management of his fuel supply which resulted in fuel starvation. Factors in the accident were the inadequate annual inspection which resulted in fuel siphoning, and a high reading fuel gage.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/25/1998 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1025 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | PALMDALE |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93590 |
| Event Date Year | 1998 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1052 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 128 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PMD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2543 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 17 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 24 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 1 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 3 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1856 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 25 1998 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1135 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 11 2000 11:50AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N36EL |
| NTSB Number | LAX99LA015 |
| 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 | 36 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 36 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | E-8 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 1 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 6 |
| Airframe Hours | 1903 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | EDDIE W. LONG |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1212 N. DORTHEA ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | LA HABRA |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 90631 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | POC |
| Departure City | LA VERNE |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1000 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SAC |
| Destination City | SACRAMENTO |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| 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 | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |