# Accident 20010110000439A: Beech V35B, Mesa, AZ, January 10, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 10, 2001, 13:07 local time
- Place: Mesa, AZ
- Airport: Falcon Field Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.4299° N, 111.7107° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4299&lon=-111.7107&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4002A, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4002A-2002-04-26) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech V35B (registry code 1151548, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-v35b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH V35B
- Reported engine: CONT IO520B
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 3,506 total, 1,880 in this make and model, 36 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01LA072](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA072) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010110000439A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) PILOT STATED THAT HE RAN THE LEFT FUEL TANK UNTIL ENGINE QUIT. THEN SWITCHED TO RIGHT TANK THAT HELD APPROX. 22 GAL. OF FUEL. ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND TO SWITCH OF TANKS. THEN CHECKED SELECTOR AND DETENT TO DETERMINE THAT HE HAD SWITCHED TO RIGHT TANK. SWITCHED ON BOOST PUMP. ENGINE STILL DID NOT RESPOND. PILOT THEN DECIDED TO PUT A/C ON GROUND WITH FLAPS AND GEAR IN THE UP POSITION. STRUCK FENCE WITH TAIL AND SLID TO STOP ON DIRT ROAD WITH TAIL OF A/C OUT OVER A CANAL. (.4) ON JANUARY 10, 2001, AT 1307 HOURS MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A BEECH V35B, N4002A, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN IT LOST POWER AND LANDED IN A FIELD APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES EAST OF FALCON FIELD, MESA, ARIZONA. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91 BY A COMMERCIAL PILOT, WHO ALONG WITH ONE PASSENGER, SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT, WHICH DEPARTED FROM MARANA NORTHWEST REGIONAL AIRPORT ABOUT 1200. A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) INSPECTOR FROM THE SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE AND INTERV                                              IEWED THE PILOT AND EXAMINED THE AIRPLANE. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT USING THE LEFT FUEL TANK WHEN THE ENGINE LOST POWER. HE SWITCHED TO THE RIGHT TANK AND TURNED ON THE BOOST PUMP BUT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE AND LANDED GEAR UP IN A CANAL STRIKING A FENCE. THE FAA INSPECTOR REPORTED THAT THE LEFT FUEL TANK CONTAINED ABOUT 1 QUART OF FUEL AND THE RIGHT TANK WAS APPROXIMATELY 1/2 FULL. THE AIRPLANE WAS RECOVERED TO AN AIRCRAFT STORAGE FACILITY. A VENTED FUEL TANK WAS CONNECTED TO THE FUEL SELECTOR VALVE INLET FOR THE LEFT TANK. WITH LEFT TANK SELECTED, THE ENGINE STARTED, AND WAS RUN FOR APPROXIMATELY 5 MINUTES.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX01LA072](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA072), Jan 10, 2001: Beech V35B (N4002A), Mesa, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper fuel management in cruise flight that resulted in a loss of engine power, because of fuel starvation, and a collision with a fence during the subsequent forced landing.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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