- Date
- December 28, 1989, 12:01 local (17:01 UTC)
- Place
- Erie, PA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N478ADBeech 60
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891228053619A
- Case key
- 14518
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 assure that the aircraft had an adequate supply of fuel on board for the intended flight. Contributing factors to the accident were an inoperative right fuel quantity gage which resulted in inaccurate fuel consumption calculations, and an inadvertent stall as the pilot attemptrd to reach a lake shore for an emergency landing.
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 pilot departed on a local VFR flight at 1117. At 1154 he contacted Erie tower for landing. He then advised the tower at 1159 that he had feathered the right engine. One minute later he reported that the left engine was '...kicking out.' The aircraft stalled into a house 6 miles from the airport, and just short of the shoreline of lake Erie. No fuel was found in the right wing. 7 gals were drained from the left wing; no fuel was found in the left eng. Right fuel quantity c/b secured in out position by wire tie; several burned components found on back of right fuel quantity gage pc board. Most recent record of fuel purchase which could be found was for may 25, 1989. A pocket diary was found in the wreckage which contained entries of flight times and fuel quantity notations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N478AD
- Reported as
- Beech 60
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- P-59
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-541-E1A4, 380 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Automation Devices, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- ERI · Erie, PA
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
- 75
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,100 total · 2,100 in this make and model · 3,000 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 25 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ERI, 6 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.