Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Sacramento Internatl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sacramento, California 95837
Monday, August 16, 2010 14:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that prior to departing for the cross-country flight he had topped off the fuel in both fuel tanks. He took off with the fuel selector positioned to the left tank, and about 1 hour into the flight he switched to the right fuel tank. The remainder of the flight was uneventful until he started the airplane's descent to land. He stated that he switched the fuel selector back to the left fuel tank in preparation for landing. Shortly after he switched the fuel tank, the engine lost power. He repositioned the fuel selector to the right fuel tank and made an unsuccessful attempt to restart the engine. He initiated a forced landing to an open field, and during the descent the airplane struck power lines. The airplane landed hard in a wings-level attitude, substantially damaging the fuselage in the accident sequence. He reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the accident site that he had observed fuel leaking from the fuel cap after takeoff. During the on-scene examination of the airframe the FAA inspector observed fuel stains along the left wing originating from the fuel cap, which was consistent with fuel venting out of the wing. Recovery personnel recovered a minimal amount of fuel during the recovery process and reported that the fuel tanks had not been breached during the accident sequence. Examination of the engine found no evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power during descent due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's failure to ensure that the fuel cap was secured during the preflight inspection.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/16/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1415 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Sacramento |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95837 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 384143N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1213526W |
| Event Location Airport | Sacramento Internatl Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SMF |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 27 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SMF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 27 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| 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) | 15 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.89 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KSMF 161453Z 17004KT 10SM CLR 15/12 A2989 |
| 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) | 28103 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA AWP Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 12 2011 4:31PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N67311 |
| NTSB Number | WPR10LA408 |
| 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 | V35B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | D-10333 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Jan 25 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 23 |
| Airframe Hours | 2171 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Rosemead Properties Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 6010 |
| Aircraft Owner City | El Monte |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 91734 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Rosemead Properties Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | P.O. Box 6010 |
| Operator City | El Monte |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 91734 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | EDU |
| Destination City | Davis |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 12 2011 12:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | broda |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |