- Date
- January 24, 1991, 04:38 local (09:38 UTC)
- Place
- Batavia, NY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N73JPBeech 58
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910124000909A
- Case key
- 36870
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 failure of the pilot to ensure an adequate amount of fuel was on board for the planned flight which resulted in a double power loss due to the fuel exhaustion.
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 contacted approach control en route to his destination, indicating he was low on fuel and lost power on one engine. Radar and radio communications were lost and the airplane was found several hours later with the pilot fatally injured. Post crash examination of the airplane revealed the fuel tanks intact, the fuel caps in place, no fuel in the tanks, and no evidence of leakage. The sparks plugs look grey in appearance. The pilot flew this same trip several nights a week and had flown the same airplane and trip the night before. The load manifest from the night before indicated 500 lbs (83.3 gallons) of fuel on board at departure. The trip took 1.6 hours on the hobbs meter. There was no record of a refueling prior to the accident flight. After the accident flight, the hobbs meter indicated an additional 1.6 hours.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N73JP
- Reported as
- Beech 58
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TH1057
- Engine
- Continental IO-520C, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Prior Aviation Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- UCA · Utica, NY
- Destination
- BUF · Buffalo, NY
- Airport
- BTV · Genesee County
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,343 total · 1,228 in this make and model · 4,153 as pilot in command · 116 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 240° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 18 °F, dew point 5 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ROC
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.