- Date
- April 17, 1984, 00:40 local (08:40 UTC)
- Place
- Bowman, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5676SBeech A23-24
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840417012949A
- Case key
- 23951
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
On a flt from fair oaks, CA, to reno, NV, a flt of about 1 hr 15 mins, the acft experienced a total power loss. The plt asked the pax to select the other fuel tank. The selctor handle was not attached to the valve. But the pax located the handle and turned the valve. This action did not aid in restarting the engine. During a forced landing at night, the acft struck a tree, an electric cable, then impacted the ground. An investigation disclosed that the fuel selector valve was in the 'off' position. Beech service instruction no 1095, which provided for stops on the fuel valve to preclude inadvertent selection of the off position had not been accomplished. The acft had flown 6 hrs previously without refueling. Normal endurance is 6-1/2 hrs. About 6 gals of fuel remained in the right tank. The plt, a former army aviator, held no FAA plt ratings. A toxicology test of the plt's blood showed an alcohol level of 0.177%.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5676S
- Reported as
- Beech A23-24
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- MA-84
- Airframe hours
- 2,822
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A2B, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James Porter/Steven Lewis
- Registered owner
- James D. Knapp & Deborah Knapp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 13, 1983 · 24 hours before
- Departed
- 011 · Fair Oaks, CA
- Destination
- RNO · Reno, NV
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
- 36
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 210° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SAC, 72 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.
Other investigations on N5676S · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.