- Date
- September 5, 1990, 07:15 local (12:15 UTC)
- Place
- Weatherford, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N666DFBeech C55
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900905038169A
- Case key
- 23180
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 fuel starvation induced power loss to the left engine, which resulted from the improper fuel tank being selected by the PIC.
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 multi-engine airplane was in cruise flight when loss of engine power occurred on the right engine the pilot received clearance from ATC to a nearby airport. The pilot entered the traffic pattern and set up for approach. He executed a go- around over the runway. As he applied power, the left engine surged and airspeed was lost. The pilot decided to land on a road, but struck the tops of several trees during the descent. The airplane landed hard on the road and slid into a tree and mail box pole. FAA inspectors discovered the auxiliary fuel tanks empty and fuel selector switches positioned to the auxiliary fuel tanks. Main fuel tanks were nearly full.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N666DF
- Reported as
- Beech C55
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TE-160
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-C/CB, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Bruce Dolenz, doing business as Executive Flight
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 6, 1990
- Departed
- DAL · Dallas, TX
- Destination
- ABI · Abilene, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- NONE · Parker County, runway 17, 2,889 × 40 ft, asphalt
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
- 29
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,230 total · 150 in this make and model · 1,060 as pilot in command · 425 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.