- Date
- July 23, 1989, 13:40 local (17:40 UTC)
- Place
- Cluster Springs, VA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N18257Beech 77
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890723024549A
- Case key
- 11466
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to perform an adequate preflight which resulted in an unlatched fuel filler cap. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to monitor the fuel supply during the flight.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The stu pilot was en route when she radioed the engine was losing power. According to another plt, the stu plt sounded panic-striken during the transmission. The acft crashed into a small pond, surrounded by an open field. Damage to the acft, indicated the acft struck the pond in a steep nose down attitude. Examination of the acft did not reveal evidence of mechanical malfunction. Inspection of the left wing surface behind the fuel tank filler neck, indicated the fuel cap was unfastened and laying on the wing inflight. A flight test in a similar acft with an unfastened left fuel cap revealed the cap moved aft and was held by its chain. During the test, fuel siphoned from the left fuel tank. Fuel performance calculations indicated the acft would have used up to 13 gal during the flight. It had a 30 gal fuel capacity, 15 gal per tank.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N18257
- Reported as
- Beech 77
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- WA-298
- Airframe hours
- 3,884
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Piedmont Aviation Services Inc
- Registered owner
- Piedmont Aviation Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 22, 1989 · 78 hours before
- Departed
- ORF · Norfolk, VA
- Destination
- South Boston, VA
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 103 total · 103 in this make and model · 20 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,700 ft broken
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RDU
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.