CEN12LA169

NTSB accident investigation · Beech 58 · Cypress, TX · February 24, 2012

Accident · Serious injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
February 23, 2012, 18:59 local (Feb 24, 2012, 00:59 UTC)
Place
Cypress, TX
Injuries
1 serious, 1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Approach
Aircraft
N99EZBeech 58
Defining event
Approach: Fuel exhaustion
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Night
Status
Completed · report August 13, 2013
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA report
20120223003659A
Case key
82963

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 improper preflight planning/preparation and in-flight fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion during the approach to the destination airport.

Findings · 3

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Fluids: fuelAircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid managementBeech 58: 1 caseAll aircraft: 1,695 casesProbable cause
Fluids: fuelAircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid levelBeech 58: 1 caseAll aircraft: 1,695 casesProbable cause
Planning/preparation: fuel planningPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotBeech 58: 1 caseAll aircraft: 719 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

The pilot was performing an instrument approach to his destination airport. After the airplane descended beneath the clouds on the approach, both engines experienced a total loss of power. Examination of the airplane revealed that there was no usable fuel aboard.

Factual narrative

On February 23, 2012, about 1859 central standard time, a Beech 58, N99EZ, experienced a total loss of engine power on both engines during a visual approach to West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas. The pilot subsequently made a forced landing about 7 miles northwest of IWS and near Cypress, Texas. The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries and the passenger was uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing. The airplane was registered to United Aviation Associates LLC and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Night marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan had not been filed for the flight that originated from Vicksburg Municipal Airport, Vicksburg, Mississippi, and was destined for IWS. A National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report, Form 6120.1, was not received from the pilot. According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the pilot requested and received a local instrument flight rules clearance to IWS. The pilot received radar vectors for a global positioning system runway 15 approach. The pilot then requested and was issued a visual approach clearance. The cloud height became lower, and the pilot began to descend. Air traffic control warned the pilot that they received a low altitude alert, which was then followed by the right engine running rough. The pilot turned on the fuel pump and the engine began to run smooth. The pilot thought that the engine driven fuel pump had failed. Both engines then experienced a total loss of engine power and the pilot attempted a forced landing to a baseball field. There were children on the field and the pilot attempted to land on a road next to the field. The airplane touched down on a school playground and the landing gear collapsed. The airplane slid for about 100 feet and struck a telephone pole tearing the wing near the engine cowling. There was no evidence of usable fuel present in the airplane fuel tanks.

Aircraft

Registration
N99EZ
Reported as
Beech 58 (NO SERIES)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
TH-725
Engine
Continental IO 520, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Pilot
Registered owner
United Aviation Associates LLC
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
VKS · Vicksburg, MS
Destination
IWS · Houston, TX
Airport
IWS · West Houston Airport

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
Injuries
None
Certificates
Commercial, Flight instructor
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Night
Wind
170° at 22 knots
Visibility
4 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
1,000 ft overcast
Temperature
72 °F, dew point 70 °F
Altimeter
29.60 inHg
Observed at
TME, 12 nm away

Docket · 2

The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 5, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 116 KB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.