Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hanover, Michigan 49241
Friday, December 17, 1999 15:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. A police report stated, '[the pilot] stated that while switching fuel tanks to equalize weight, the engine quit. [The pilot] stated that he attempted to switch back to a different fuel tank and still had no response from the engine. [The pilot] stated that he attempted to use the manual fuel hand-pump with no response from the engine.' The pilot landed the airplane in a swampy field adjacent to a road. The aircraft contacted the ground and flipped over during the landing. A postaccident examination of the aircraft revealed no fuel remained in the left fuel tank or auxiliary fuel tank, and approximately 2 inches of fuel remained in the right fuel tank when dipped. No anomalies were found with respect to the aircraft or it's systems. The pilot had purchased the aircraft earlier in the day.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

fuel starvation and the pilot's improper fuel tank selector position. A factor was the swampy terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/17/1999
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1515
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City HANOVER
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 49241
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 12
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 1448 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 19
Weather Observation Facility ID JXN
Elevation of weather observation facility 1001
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1600
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) -3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1579
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 17 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1833
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 9:47AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5BB
NTSB Number CHI00LA048
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 35
Aircraft Series Identifier 35
Aircraft Serial Number D-1401
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 1 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RICHARD T HOEHN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8237 PIONEER DR
Aircraft Owner City PORT AUSTIN
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48467
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 HHG
Departure City HUNTINGTON
Departure State IN
Departure Country
Departure Time 1415
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 29C
Destination City PORT AUSTIN
Destination State MI
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 12:27PM
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 --