20060212001929A

(-23) The Beech sundowner crash landed about 300 feet short of runway 31L after experiencing power loss as it was about to enter a right downwind leg, at about 1,200 feet AGL, to runway 31R at Reid-Hillview airport (rhv) at San Jose, CA. After the pilot reported the power loss, rhv ATCT cleared the sundowner to land on runway 31R. The pilot, concerned with avoiding a stall, chose not to use a steeper-banked turn and overshot the extended centerline for both runways 31R and 31L. When the pilot inadvertently allowed his airspeed to drop to about 60 KIAS, the sundowner developed a high sink-rate and struck a grassy field with a hard impact. The vertical force drove the right main gear up through the upper wing surface and all three landing gear were sheared off. The sundowner bounced and slid to a stop in the middle of the east-bound lanes of tully road. Both propeller blades were severely bent, and the fuselage behind the cabin was bent. Although the airplane was essentially destroyed, the pilot was uninjured, and both passengers received minor injuries. There was no fire. A witness, an experienced CFI in the run-up area for runway 31R, reported that the sundowner had enough altitudeto make it to runway 31R, but the atcs distracted the pilot at a critical time on the downwind leg by repeatedly asking questions when the pilot should have been planning his dead-stick approach and attempting an engine re-start. The pilot stated he had begun his flight with the airplane fueled to the slots in the fuel-tank neck. This resulted in 37.4 gallons of useable fuel on board (18.7 gallons per tank). The pilot flew the 180 HP sundowner 1.9 hours with the fuel selector on the right tank until the engine lost power. The pilot did not switch tanks after power loss. Since the 180 HP engine typically averages 10.0 gph (fuel consumption), the right tank would normally supply fuel for approximately 1.87 hours before becoming exhausted. After the airplane had been moved to the FBO ramp, the investigating inspector found the airplane with the right fuel tank selected, and the right fuel tank empty. The inspector estimated the left fuel tank to be 50% full (about 9 gallons). The pilot stated that he visually checked the fuel level before flight and found both tanks fueled to the slots (18.7 gallons per tank). He further stated that he flew the entire flight with the fuel selector on the right tank. Upon experiencing fuel exhaustion, the pilot said he attempted to restart the engine, but he did not switch the fuel selector to the left tank. He did not get the engine restarted. There was a possible mitigating factor in the pilot's decision to not switch fuel tanks. The investigating inspector found that, after the accident, both fuel gauges read about 70% full despite the fact that the right tank was empty and the left tank was about 50% full. The pilot may have relied on erroneous fuel gauge readings.