CHI03FA291

The airplane impacted a utility pole and the terrain following a loss of engine power while being vectored for an ILS approach. The pilot diverted to an airport that had an ILS approach during the flight because of deteriorated weather. The pilot stated that during the approach the airplane did not seem to be descending so he disconnected the autopilot and subsequently executed a missed approach. The pilot reported that upon reaching 2,600 feet msl during the missed approach, he leaned the engine using turbo inlet temperature. The pilot reported the engine began to sputter so he pushed the mixture to rich, adjusted the throttle, and switched the boost pump to LOW, but the engine continued to sputter. He switched the boost pump to HI and the sputtering stopped momentarily before starting again. The pilot informed ATC that he was having a fuel problem and he needed to land "ASAP." The approach controller issued a vector to turn N8018J onto the approach. The pilot stated he switched the fuel selector to the left tank position and he attempted to restart the engine to no avail. The pilot reported that during the emergency descent all of the airplane lights went out except for the GPS and EFIS which had independent lighting systems. The airplane impacted the utility pole and slid across a county road before coming to rest. A post impact fire and explosion ensued. Usable fuel capacity for the airplane is 102 gallons. The fuel tanks were last topped off on August 1, 2003, and there was an addition total of 151.7 gallons added since that time. This resulted in the airplane having had 253.7 gallons of usable fuel on board since August 1, 2003. The airplane was flown 12.1 hours with 8 takeoffs since it was topped off. The pilot stated the fuel burn ranged from 12 to 30 gallons per hour with an average of 18 to 19 gallons per hour. According to Beechcraft, an additional 4 gallons of fuel would be used for each taxi, takeoff, and climb sequence. A fuel burn of 18 gallons per hour, would have resulted in the airplane using 249.8 gallons (217.8 gallons plus 32 gallons) of fuel during the 12.1 hours of flight time. A fuel burn of 19 gallons per hour would have resulted in 261.9 gallons (229.9 gallons plus 32 gallons) being used. Inspection of the engine revealed only residual fuel was present in the fuel manifold and in the fuel metering unit. There was no fuel present in any of the fuel lines or in the fuel pump. Regulation 49 CFR Part 91.167 states no person may operate a civil aircraft in IFR conditions unless it carries enough fuel to complete the flight to the first airport of intended landing, fly from that airport to the alternate airport, and fly thereafter for 45 minutes at normal cruise.

History of flight

On September 1, 2003, at 2002 eastern standard time, a Beech B36TC, N8018J, collided with a utility pole and the terrain during a forced landing in Uniondale, Indiana, following a reported loss of engine power. The private instrument rated pilot received serious injuries, one passenger received minor injuries, and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed by a post impact fire and explosion. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in instrument meteorological conditions and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed. The flight originated from the Boyne City Municipal Airport (N98), Boyne City, Michigan, at 1812, with an intended destination of Smith Airport (SMD), Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

The pilot reported he received a flight service station weather briefing at 1738 prior to departing N98. Due to the weather conditions, he filed an IFR flight plan using South Bend Regional Airport (SBN), South Bend, Indiana, as an alternate. The pilot stated he departed N98 with 60 gallons of fuel on board and he calculated that he would use about 35 gallons for the flight.

At 1812, the pilot contacted air traffic control stating that he had departed N98. While en route, the pilot contacted Ft. Wayne International (FWA) air traffic control approach control and stated that he wanted to fly the global positioning system (GPS) approach into SMD. The pilot then stated to the controller that based on weather conditions reported by another airplane, he wanted to fly the instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 05 at FWA. The pilot was issued vectors for the ILS runway 05 approach. The pilot stated he used the autopilot, but turned it off while intercepting the localizer during the approach.

The pilot stated he selected the heading mode on the autopilot after he intercepted the localizer. He stated that during the approach the airplane did not seem to be descending so he disconnected the autopilot and hand flew the approach. The pilot stated the airplane only descended to 1,400 feet above mean sea level (msl) because he had been "messing around" with the autopilot, so he executed the missed approach. (Radar data showed the pilot was at 1,200 feet msl and 1.5 miles from FTW when he initiated the missed approach. Decision height for the approach is listed as 1,015 feet msl.) The pilot informed the controller that he wanted to fly the approach again. He was instructed to contact FWA approach control at which time he was issued vectors for the approach. The pilot reported that upon reaching 2,600 feet msl during the missed approach, he leaned the engine using turbo inlet temperature.

The pilot stated the engine began to sputter during the missed approach. He pushed the mixture to rich, adjusted the throttle, and switched the boost pump to LOW, but the engine continued to sputter. He then switched the boost pump to HI and the sputtering stopped momentarily before starting again. The pilot informed the controller that he was having a fuel problem and he needed to land "ASAP." The approach controller issued a vector to turn N8018J onto the approach. The pilot then declared an emergency. The pilot stated he switched the fuel selector to the left tank position and he attempted to restart the engine to no avail. When questioned by the controller, the pilot reported that he was not able to maintain altitude and he did not have any power.

The pilot reported that during the emergency descent all of the airplane lights went out except for the Garmin Global Positioning System (GPS) and the EFIS/heading indicator which have independent lighting systems. He stated he turned on a flashlight that he kept tucked in his shirt and used it to illuminate the artificial horizon. He also handed another flashlight to his son, who was in the right front seat, and told him to shine it on the vertical speed indicator. The pilot stated that once the engine lost power, he did not have time to secure the airplane or any of the switches.

The pilot stated that during the descent, at an altitude of 300 feet agl, he was able to see lights along the road and he was hoping to land in a farm field alongside the road. He then heard a loud noise from the left side of the airplane and the airplane banked to the left. The pilot stated a fire started instantaneously on the left rear side of the airplane. The airplane then contacted the road and the next thing he recalled was looking for the door handle to exit the airplane. He stated he and his son were able to exit the airplane through the door. He returned to the airplane in an attempt to help his wife and two children who were in the back, but the flames were too intense. The pilot reported that shortly thereafter, the oxygen bottle on board the airplane exploded.

The pilot's son who was in the front right seat told an Indiana State Police Trooper they cold not land at Smith Field because of the low ceiling so they decided to go to Ft. Wayne Internatoinal. He also stated that they ran out of fuel and he recalled hitting a tree and the airplane catching fire.

Personnel information

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. The private pilot certificate was issued on June 26, 1997, and the instrument rating was added on March 15, 1998. According to the pilot's logbook, his last biennial flight review was dated March 9, 2003. The pilot received a high performance aircraft checkout on the same date.

The last entry in the pilot's logbook is dated August 22, 2003. The logbook showed he had a total flight time of 836.3 hours, of which 666.6 hours were as pilot-in-command. The pilot's total flight time in B36TC airplanes was 58.6 hours. The logbook showed the pilot had a total of 106.9 hours of actual instrument flight time in addition to 47.7 hours of simulated instrument flight time.

The pilot held a third class medical certificate which was issued on July 23, 2002. The medical certificate did not contain any limitations.

Aircraft information

N8018J, was a 1990-model Beech B36TC, serial number EA-510. The single engine, low-wing, airplane was purchased by the pilot on March 14, 2003. According to the airframe logbook, the last annual inspection on the airplane was dated December 17, 2002, at an airframe total time of 1,477.5 hours. The last entry in the logbook was dated March 6, 2003. On this date the tachometer time on the airplane was recorded as being 1,489 hours. According to the pilot's logbook and his recollection, he flew N8018J for 59.6 hours since March 6, 2003, making the total airframe time at the time of the accident 1548.6 hours.

N8018J was powered by a Teledyne Continental TSIO-520-UB4F, turbocharged engine. According to the engine logbook, the last annual inspection on the engine was conducted on December 17, 2002, at an engine total time of 941.5 hours.

The pilot reported, with the exception of water leaking in around a window seal, he did not have any problems with the airplane during the flight until the engine lost power while on the approach.

The airplane's fuel system consisted of two interconnected bladder-type fuel cells located in each wing. The outboard fuel cell in each wing fed fuel to the inboard cell on each wing. The fuel pick-up line was in the aft portion of the inboard fuel cell in each wing. Each outboard fuel cell held 14 gallons of fuel and each inboard cell held 40 gallons of fuel. The total fuel capacity was 108 gallons of which 102 gallons were usable. Fuel quantity is measured using float sensors in each wing.

Meteorological information

At 1954, the FWA weather was recorded as: Wind 080 degrees at 11 knots; visibility 2 1/2 statute miles with light rain and mist; sky condition overcast 300 feet; temperature 17 degrees C; dew point 17 degrees C; altimeter 30.06 inches of mercur