Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Benton, Kansas 67017
Saturday, August 17, 2002 23:35 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing after a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that during cruise flight at 8,000 feet msl, he "noted sluggish and erratic fuel gauge needle trends on the left gauge." The pilot reported that the engine began to run rough during descent from 8,000 feet. The pilot reported he immediately switched to the right fuel tank and activated the low boost pump. He reported the engine "spooled down." He established a 110 knot glide attitude. He then set the electric fuel pump to high boost and the mixture control to full rich. The engine restarted briefly, then stopped. The pilot executed a forced landing to a field. He reported that he "did not have sufficient visual references with which to accurately flare so we impacted the ground at approximately 85 kts indicated." The inspection of the airplane revealed that the right fuel tank contained about 25 gallons of fuel. The left fuel tank was de-fueled and 3 gallons and 8 ounces of fuel was removed from the tank. The aircraft placard states that the unusable fuel is 3 gallons. The Pilot Operating Handbook states the following information concerning the operation to the Auxiliary Fuel Pump Switch: "The HI position is used for priming the engine during cold starts and also to provide an alternate source of fuel pressure in the event the engine-driven fuel pump fails. HI boost must not be used during flight unless the engine-driven fuel pump has failed. The increased pressure of the HI boost will over-drive the fuel control unit producing abnormally high fuel flows which, in turn, will cause engine roughness. In some cases, engine combustion may cease."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Fuel starvation due to the pilot's improper fuel management, the pilot's improper remedial actions during engine restart, and the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing. Additional factors included the inadequate flare and the dark night.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/17/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 2335 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Benton |
| Event State | KANSAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 67017 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| 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 | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2254 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 260 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AAO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1420 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 8000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 60 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.97 |
| 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 | 5 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13168 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 18 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 222 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 18 2003 4:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Wichita FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N336CB |
| NTSB Number | CHI02LA258 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Beech |
| Aircraft Model | A36 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | E3431 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2650 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 27 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 22 |
| Airframe Hours | 119 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | M. J. Bravo, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4323 N. 159th Street East |
| Aircraft Owner City | Wichita |
| Aircraft Owner State | KS |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 67228 |
| 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 | LWC |
| Departure City | Lawrence |
| Departure State | KS |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2230 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | AAO |
| Destination City | Wichita |
| Destination State | KS |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 13 2003 3:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |