- Date
- February 7, 1993, 15:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sandy Valley, NV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4255BBeech F35
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930207002329A
- Case key
- 27964
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 failure to perform a preflight inspection of the airplane, and to assure that an adequate supply of fuel was on board the aircraft. This subsequently led to an inadequate fuel supply in the left tank, and fuel starvation. A factor related to the accident was the lack of familiarity with the airplane by the pilot in command.
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
Neither the pilot nor the operator checked the aircraft's fuel level before the flight. The pilot, in his written statement, said he was 'checked out' in the aircraft for about 20 minutes by the former owner of the airplane. The pilot took off to fly three miles to his ranch. The engine quit as the aircraft approach the ranch. The pilot executed a forced landing and landed 50 feet short of a road. The owner inspected the left tank and said the tank was 'bone dry.' The pilot said he had not changed or switched tanks. He said the gauge showed 1/2 full.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4255B
- Reported as
- Beech F35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D4259
- Airframe hours
- 5,687
- Engine
- Continental E225-8, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jerry F. Curtis
- Registered owner
- Eugene C. Falk
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 9, 1992 · 2 hours before
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
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAS, 35 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.