LAX00LA108

The pilot departed Wickenberg, Arizona, for a flight to Lompoc, California. The pilot said he planned on an intermediate stop near Twentynine Palms, California, to purchase fuel. According to the pilot, he had topped the airplane off with an estimated 35 gallons of fuel prior to the flight. He took off on the left fuel tank and then switched to the right tank. He said he remembered looking at the right fuel tank and saw it was bouncing from 1/4 tank to nearly empty. He said he was about 40 miles east of his intended intermediate destination when the engine suddenly quit. He switched tanks back to the left tank and attempted to restart the engine, without success. He told investigators that he noticed the right tank going dry fast but elected to continue the flight. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the right tank had about 3 ounces of fuel in it and the left tank was nearly full. The engine was run after the accident with no abnormalities noted.

On February 24, 2000, at 1345 hours Pacific standard time, a Beech 35, N5127C, collided with a ditch during a forced landing following a reported power loss near Desert Center, California. The airplane owned and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91, sustained substantial damage. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The pilot had departed Wickenberg, Arizona, at 1225 mountain standard time, and was destined for Lompoc, California, with an intermediate stop at Twentynine Palms, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and a flight plan was not filed for the personal cross-country flight.

The pilot said he fueled up in Wickenberg and did a preflight on the airplane as it had just been painted and had been sitting for 2 months. He said both fuel tanks were full to the brim; he estimated 35 gallons of fuel prior to his first engine run-up. During his before engine start checklist, he stated he placed the fuel selector on the left tank. He stated the engine started with no complications.

He said because the airplane had been sitting, he ran the engine up to operating temperature and then shut it down and got out of the airplane and checked it for leaks. He said he checked the oil level and got back in the airplane. He started the engine and proceeded to taxi for his run-up on runway 23. He stated the wind was calm with a light breeze from 260 degrees. He said he took off at exactly 1325 en route to his first checkpoint, which was Buckeye VOR, and proceeded to climb to 8,500 feet.

After passing Buckeye VOR, he said he changed his course direction to 272 degrees and headed for Twentynine Palms. After 30 minutes of flight time, he said his left tank indicated about 3/4 full, which he said was consistent with the amount of fuel he had used up to that point. He then switched tanks from his left to right tank. He said that the next 45 minutes was smooth and he monitored his fuel level of the right tank. He then began to descend to 6,500 feet about 45 miles east of Twentynine Palms.

He said that the next time he looked at his fuel gauge it was bouncing down from "1/4 of a tank to nearly empty." He said it appeared that his fuel tank went from 3/4 full to nearly empty in a matter of minutes.

He said he was about 40 miles east of Twentynine Palms when the engine suddenly quit. He said he quickly set up for a glide and began to look for a suitable landing spot. He tried to restart the engine using the left tank but was unable to do so. He ended up landing in a remote desert clearing and hit a ditch upon rollout, causing the substantial damage to the airplane.

The pilot told Safety Board investigators that he noticed the right tank going dry really fast but elected not to land, and continued until the right tank went dry and tried to get a restart on the engine using the left tank.

A postaccident inspection of the airplane by the retrieval company revealed that the left wing fuel tank was nearly full and the right wing fuel tank was empty at the time the airplane was retrieved from the crash site. Approximately 3 ounces of fuel was drained from the right wing tank. It was noted that the airplane was not configured with any other auxiliary type of fuel supply.

On August 21, the airplane was secured onto a support platform using a small fuel supply tank connected to the left fuel inlet fitting where the left wing connection would have been attached. The test fuel source entered the cockpit fuel selector value directly. The engine was then started normally and was operated normally up to approximately 1,400 rpm. Due to the accident, the throttle control was bent, which restricted the full rpm. The engine was run for approximately 10 minutes with no indication of any abnormalities.