Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Las Cruces International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88004
Friday, December 21, 2012 16:50 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot said he added 31 gallons of fuel (for a total 0f 70 gallons) prior to departure. The fuel gauges indicated the main tanks were one-half to three-quarters full, with the remainder in the auxiliary tanks. The fuel selectors were on the main tanks. After a short 10-minute flight, the pilot executed an ILS approach in VMC. Ten miles from the runway threshold, the right engine started surging. Fuel flow fluctuated between 28 gph and 2 gph. He advanced the throttle, propeller, and mixture controls and turned on the fuel boost pumps. The airplane yawed and he identified the right engine as having lost power. He feathered the propeller and secured the engine. Shortly thereafter, the left engine lost power. The airplane impacted terrain, shearing off the left wing. The right engine was partially separated from the right wing. An FAA inspector examined the wreckage and said the right propeller was not feathered and both fuel selectors were in the auxiliary tank position. The left engine throttle, propeller, and mixture controls were full forward. The right engine throttle and propeller control were only slightly retarded, and the mixture control was in the IDLE CUTOFF position. Both fuel selectors were positioned on the auxiliary tanks, but the fuel gauge selector switch was on the main tanks.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to properly manage the airplane's fuel, which resulted in engine failure due to fuel starvation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/21/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1650 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Las Cruces |
| Event State | NEW MEXICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 88004 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 321515N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1065236W |
| Event Location Airport | Las Cruces International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KLRU |
| 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 | 4457 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1735 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KLRU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4457 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| 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) | 6 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -15 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.21 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 31164 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ASW ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 21 2013 4:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | bakd |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N30WC |
| NTSB Number | CEN13LA110 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| 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 | 95-B55 (T42A) |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | TC-628 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5100 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 2 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 2 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 77 |
| Airframe Hours | 11136 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Sean M. Tommervik |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | East Bridgewater |
| Aircraft Owner State | MA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 02333-1330 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Sean M. Tommervik |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | El Paso |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 79912 |
| 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 | 5T6 |
| Departure City | Santa Teresa |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1640 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | KLRU |
| Destination City | Las Cruces |
| Destination State | NM |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 1 2013 2:53PM |
| User who most recently changed record | seak |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 30 |
| Runway Length | 7506 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |