- Date
- May 2, 1993, 12:50 local (19:50 UTC)
- Place
- Paradise, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N12828Dornier DO-28
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 15, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930502011359A
- Case key
- 27966
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 poor in flight fuel consumption calculations by the pilot and the pilot's in flight decision not to switch fuel tanks which caused the total failure of both of the airplane's engines. Factors relating to this accident were fuel starvation and the high vegetation in the emergency landing area.
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 pilot reported that about 20 minutes into the flight, the left engine lost power. He turned the left firewall mounted electric boost pump on and selected left aux tank. The left engine regained power. He selected the right engine to right aux tank. After 20-30 seconds both engines quit. He was unable to restart either engine and landed the airplane in heavy brush at about 40 knots. The FAA reported the pilot stated that he mismanaged the fuel, and waited too long to switch tanks.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N12828
- Reported as
- Dornier DO-28
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3023
- Airframe hours
- 3,625
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1D, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Brian Esler
- Registered owner
- Brian Esler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 8, 1992 · 46 hours before
- Departed
- SVE · Susanville, CA
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
- 51
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 18,570 total · 54 in this make and model · 16,500 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CIC, 15 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.