- Date
- September 22, 1996, 12:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Viroqua, WI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N66338Beech B23
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 18, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960922029209A
- Case key
- 10398
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 inadequate aircraft preflight which led to fuel exhaustion. A factor was the rough uneven terrain.
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 stated that during the cross country flight the engine quit. She switched tanks and the engine ran for a few minutes and quit again. A forced landing was conducted in a rough field. A postaccident investigation revealed one quart of fuel drained from the entire airplane. The fuel tanks were intact and there was no evidence of leakage, siphoning or fuel stains. The engine ran successfully after the addition of fuel. The pilot thought the airplane was fueled prior to the accident flight, however there is no evidence that it was.
Factual narrative
On September 22, 1996, at 1215 central daylight time, a Beech B23, N66338, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing near Viroqua, Wisconsin, in rough terrain. The pilot said that the engine quit, after which she switched fuel tanks. The engine then ran for a few minutes and quit again. The pilot reported no injuries. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was conducted in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file. The flight departed Champaign, Illinois, at 0924 with the intended destination of Lacrosse, Wisconsin.
The pilot stated that she asked that the fuel tanks be filled to the top prior to her departure from Champaign. She also indicated that during her preflight inspection she checked and found the tanks to be full.
Records at Champaign do not indicate any fueling of the accident airplane on the day of the flight. Records there indicate that the airplane flew twice on September 20, 1996, and that after those flights 11 gallons of fuel were added, which according to standard practice at the fueling point would have raised the fuel to a standard load of 35 gallons. The airplane then flew an additional 7/10 of one hour without refueling. The airplane did not fly again until the accident flight. Sources at Champaign indicate that they use 10 gallons per hour for fuel consumption calculations. According to their calculation the airplane should have departed on the accident flight with a total fuel load of 24 gallons. The "Hobbs" meter after the accident indicated a total time for the accident flight of 2.6 hours.
Examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed one quart of fuel drained from the airplane. There was no evidence of leakage, siphoning, or fuel stains on the airplane. Five gallons of fuel were added to the right fuel tank and the engine was started and ran within specifications.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N66338
- Reported as
- Beech B23
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- M-2202
- Airframe hours
- 7,032
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4J, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- University Of Illinois
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 11, 1996 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- CMI · Champaign, IL
- Destination
- LSE · Lacrosse, WI
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
- 18
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 152 total · 49 in this make and model · 87 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KLS, 25 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.