Mccarran International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
Thursday, July 19, 2001 15:50

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On short final to runway 19 right at McCarran, the engine lost power, resulting in a forced landing on a dirt road approximately 1/4 mile from the runway. The airplane was substantially damaged when it landed hard in a 5- to 10-degree bank and skidded to a stop. The pilot had departed the El Monte airport on the left main tank. After burning 10.1 gallons from the left tank, he switched to the auxiliary tank over Baker, California, which is approximately halfway between El Monte and Las Vegas. He continued on the auxiliary tank for the remainder of the flight. The right tank was not used. As he approached the airport for landing, he verified that the fuel selector was in the auxiliary position, and believed that he should have had about 13 gallons remaining. The airplane was equipped with a Shadin fuel management system, indicating fuel flow, gallons used, and gallons remaining. The fuel management system data indicated that the airplane had used 19.6 gallons total, at a rate of 12.7 gallons per hour on average. The two main tanks hold 20 gallons of fuel each totaling 40 gallons, of which 34 are useable. The interconnected auxiliary tanks hold an additional 20 gallons. The fuel flow was set to 12.2 to 12.6 gallons per hour during the cruise portion of the flight. The fuel injection system returns about 10 gallons per hour of excess fuel. Fuel return lines are routed through the selector valve to each main cell; except for the auxiliary cells, fuel is returned to the cell from which it is drawn. The auxiliary cells return fuel to the left main cell only. The pilot had burned 10.1 gallons from the left main tank prior to switching to the auxiliary tank, and then an additional 9.4 gallons was used from the auxilliary tank. However, 19.4 gallons would have actually been withdrawn from the auxiliary tank. The additional fuel was routed to the left main tank, which was then filled back up to capacity. This left only 4/10 gallon in the auxiliary tanks, which is to be used in level flight only, and never for takeoff or landing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to comply with the airplane flight manual, resulting in fuel starvation and subsequent forced landing on rough terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/19/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1550
Event Time Zone --
Event City Las Vegas
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89119
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport McCarran International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LAS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 10
Airport Elevation 2181
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1613 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LAS
Elevation of weather observation facility 2181
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 38
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.78
Density Altitude (feet) 5552
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11384
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 19 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1622
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 5 2002 9:58AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO LAS VEGAS, NV

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3014C
NTSB Number LAX01LA247
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model J35
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number D5679
Certified Max Gross Weight 3150
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 Aug 10 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 33
Airframe Hours 2730.88
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gurgen Bagdasarian
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Montebello
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 90640
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 EMT
Departure City El Monte
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LAS
Destination City Las Vegas
Destination State NV
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - base leg/base to final
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 17 2002 5:53PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19R
Runway Length 9765
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --