# NTSB ERA25LA084: Beech BE-76, N76NN, Melbourne, FL, December 26, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: December 26, 2024, 18:57 local (23:57 UTC) - Place: Melbourne, FL · Parking lot of the flea market - Coordinates: 28.115083, -80.706661 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.1151&lon=-80.7067&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute: Fuel exhaustion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 1 minor - Status: Completed, report October 30, 2025 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 199481 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA25LA084 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/199481/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=199481 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA084 ## Probable cause The pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel planning which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and subsequent forced landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Beech 76, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=1153005), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Flight crew (probable cause); cases with it: [Beech 76, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=1153005), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute: Fuel exhaustion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192) (defining event); cases with it: [Beech 76, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md?model=1153005), [All aircraft, 804 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Beech 76, 18 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=1153005), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot and the pilot-rated passenger were flying the multi-engine airplane on a long cross-country trip. At an intermediate stop, the pilot had the airplane serviced to a total fuel quantity of 60 gallons and estimated that the fuel consumption for the planned 3-hour return flight would be slightly more than 9 gallons per hour, per engine. What he did not realize was that the total fuel consumption displayed to him by his flight planning application was only accounting for 9 gallons per hour total, or about half of what it should have been. About 3 hours after departure, the right engine began to sputter and subsequently lost total power. After declaring a fuel emergency to air traffic control, the left engine also lost power. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger determined that they would not be able to glide the airplane to a nearby airport and they began to scan for an alternate landing location. They attempted to land in a large parking lot, but the airplane struck power lines before contacting the ground. The airplane came to rest upright on the main landing gear. The left wing was separated outboard of the left engine, and the fuselage, right wing, and empennage sustained substantial damage. A small postimpact fire ignited near the portion of the left wing that separated from the fuselage and was quickly extinguished after the accident. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that less than 1 gallon of fuel remained in the right wing fuel tank and no fuel was present in what remained of the left wing fuel tank. There was no odor of fuel at the accident site. Given this information, it is likely that the loss of engine power to both engines was due to the pilot exhausting the airplane’s usable fuel supply. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N76NN](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N76NN), registered now, S/N ME-158, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BEECH BE-76 (NO SERIES) - Registry model: [Beech 76](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-76) (registry code 1153005) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-360-series) (registry code 41575, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: ME-158 - Year built: 1979 - Airframe hours: 5593.2 - Engines: Lycoming Engines LO-360-A1G6D 180 horsepower reciprocating; Lycoming Engines O-360-A1G6D 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Melbourne Flight Training LLC - Registered owner: Melbourne Flight Training LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 24, 2024, 39 hours before - Departed: UZA, Rock Hill, SC - Destination: MLB, Melbourne, FL - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: MLB, Melbourne Orlando Intl - Equipment: ADS-B, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 28; injuries: minor; flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review October 19, 2023; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 1,226 total, 18 in this make and model, 1,147 as pilot in command, 175 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days - Pilot-rated passenger; age 24; injuries: serious; flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review May 26, 2000; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 940 total, 45 in this make and model, 851 as pilot in command, 196 in the last 90 days, 45 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: 30° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 4,500 ft overcast - Temperature: 66 °F, dew point 63 °F - Altimeter: 30.11 inHg - Observed at: MLB, 3 nm away - METAR: KMLB 262353Z 03006KT 10SM OVC045 19/17 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP195 60000 T01940167 10228 20194 53007 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20241226019209A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20241226019209A), Dec 26, 2024: Beech 76, Melbourne, FL, Substantial damage. On December 26, 2024, about 1859 eastern standard time, a Beech 76, Beechcraft duchess was substantially damaged during a forced landing in a flea market… ## Docket (8 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 11, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=199481. 5.8 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 1.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19223998&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA25LA084%20Pilot%206120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Pilot's statement (item 2, PDF, 3 pages, 78 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19223461&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA25LA084%20Pilot%20MFR-Rel.pdf - Safety pilot's statement (item 3, PDF, 3 pages, 72 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19223767&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA25LA084%20Safety%20Pilot%20MFR-Rel.pdf - Crew statements to the FAA (item 4, PDF, 6 pages, 94 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19443576&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA25LA084%20Statements%20to%20FAA-Rel.pdf - Preflight planning document (item 5, PDF, 2 pages, 2.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19223392&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA25LA084%20N76NN%20TOLD%20Card_Redacted-Rel.pdf - FAA inspector's statement (item 6, PDF, 1 page, 105 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19223777&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA25LA084%20FAA%20MFR_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photos (item 7, PDF, 8 pages, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19444330&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA25LA084%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf - Body cam summary (item 8, PDF, 1 page, 66 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19223471&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA25LA084%20Body%20Cam%20MFR-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.