Big Bear City Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Big Bear City, California 92314
Thursday, June 20, 2002 19:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After a 30 minute flight, and approximately 5 minutes prior to landing, the pilot switched the fuel selectors to the "AUXILIARY" position. During the turn from downwind to base, both engines lost total power. The pilot activated both auxiliary electric boost pumps to the "LOW" position with no change in power noted. Unable to reach the runway, the pilot elected to execute a forced landing to a residential road. The airplane landed hard and impacted a tree and a fence. The airplane was destroyed by an ensuing fire. The airplane contained approximately 40-60 gallons of fuel prior to departure. The amount of fuel in the fuel tanks at the accident site could not be determined; however, fuel samples were obtained from all four fuel tanks with no anomalies noted. The Cessna POH "Before Landing" checklist requires the fuel selectors to be in the following positions: Front Engine - "LEFT MAIN"; Rear Engine - "RIGHT MAIN". The POH "Engine-Out During Flight" checklist requires the fuel selectors to be in the main tank positions, and the pilot to "turn its auxiliary fuel pump on 'HI' until fuel flow is restored." The pilot had accumulated a total of 46 hours in the airplane make and model.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/20/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1930
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Big Bear City
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92314
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 341549N
Event Location Longitude 1165116W
Event Location Airport BIG BEAR CITY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID L35
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 80
Airport Elevation 6748
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13410
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 20 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2150
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2003 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Riverside, California

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2671S
NTSB Number LAX02TA207
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Public Use
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 337C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 337-0971
Certified Max Gross Weight 4400
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 5
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Apr 2 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 77
Airframe Hours 3866.5
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Aero Haven Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 2799
Aircraft Owner City Big Bear City
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92314
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name USDA Pacific Southwest Region
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1323 Club Drive
Operator City Vallejo
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 94592
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) Public Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SBD
Departure City SAN BERNARDINO
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1900
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code L35
Destination City Big Bear City
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 20 2003 5:20PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 5850
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --