SEA96FA039

Before the ferry flight, the pilot (PIC) & inexperienced copilot noted the left & right, float-type, underwing, fuel gauges indicated about 3,900 & 4,050 lbs of fuel, respectively. After takeoff, they noted that the cockpit gauges showed an opposite fuel imbalance of 4,100 & 3,600 lbs in the left & right tanks. Due to this indication, the PIC crossfed fuel from the left tank to both engines for about 30 min to rectify the perceived fuel imbalance. Later as they approached the destination, the left tank was exhausted of fuel, & the left engine lost power, although the left gauge indicated about 500 lbs of fuel remaining in that tank. The PIC then crossfed fuel from the right tank to both engines, & left engine power was restored. ATC vectored the flight for an emergency ILS runway 3 approach. The PIC was distracted during the approach & maneuvered the airplane to re-intercept the localizer. About 500' agl in IMC, both engines lost power. During a forced landing at night, the airplane struck a raised berm & was damaged. No evidence of fuel was found in the left tank; 125 gal of fuel was found in the right tank. Unusable fuel was published as 3 gal. During an exam of the engines & fuel system components, no preimpact failure was found. Historical data from the manufacturer indicated that when the airplane had a low fuel state, unporting of fuel tank outlets could occur during certain maneuvers. This information was not in the Convair 340 flight manual, although unporting of the outlets on this flight was not verified.

History of flight

On January 4, 1996, at 1853 Pacific standard time, N358SA, a Convair 340, operated by Salair, Inc., Spokane, Washington, collided with terrain during a forced landing in Spokane and was destroyed. The forced landing was precipitated by a total loss of engine power during final approach. The first pilot received minor injuries and the second pilot was not injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance was issued. The ferry flight departed from Deer Valley, Arizona, at 1320 Pacific standard time and was destined for Spokane. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR 91.

The first pilot stated that he began his day (the day of the accident) about 0500. He flew via commercial airline cockpit jump seat from Spokane to Phoenix, Arizona, to pick up the Convair 340 and ferry it to Spokane. He stated that a "very thorough inspection" of the airplane was performed. He asked the second pilot, who had picked up the first pilot earlier that morning in Phoenix, to fuel the airplane. The airplane was fueled with an additional 647 gallons of 100 low lead aviation gasoline. The first pilot stated that the float-type, direct-reading "Boston" fuel gauges, located underneath each wing, were indicating 650 gallons (3,900 pounds) in the left wing, and 675 gallons (4,050 pounds) in the right wing, for a total indicated fuel load of 1,325 gallons. The underwing Boston fuel gauges reads in gallons, and the cockpit fuel gauges reads in pounds.

The first pilot and second pilot then started up the engines, taxied out to a run-up area, ran up the engines, and taxied back to inspect the airplane. The first pilot briefed the second pilot on all of the systems and procedures of the airplane. The crew then departed. During climbout, the engines were "running great." Fuel flows during the climb were "just perfect" at 950 pounds per hour. The airplane climbed to 6,500 feet above mean sea level (msl). Visual flight rules (VFR) weather conditions prevailed .

The first pilot stated that he opened a VFR flight plan at cruise with a destination of Mountain Home, Idaho, because the weather "was good" and the second pilot had family there. The first pilot stated that air traffic control (ATC) could not provide flight following, because the transponder was apparently not working. This anomaly surprised him, because the transponder was supposed to have been repaired at Deer Valley. The crew then overflew an airport to test the localizer. They also performed navigational airborne checks. Although the flight was VFR, the crew elected to follow airways.

The second pilot stated that they climbed to 10,500 feet initially. They checked the systems and navigational equipment. They also checked the instrument landing system (ILS) over Prescott, Arizona, and headed toward Kingman, Arizona. When they were east of Las Vegas, they "picked up another airway and headed north." The weather was "nice." They then climbed to 12,500 feet and determined they would have from 45 minutes to one hour of fuel reserves. The second pilot stated that the highest altitude that the airplane reached during the flight was 16,500 feet, at which time the crew was on breathing oxygen.

The first pilot stated that based on the winds, the flight was expected to be about 5-1/2 hours. He presumed to have 7,600 pounds of fuel on board, and planned on 1,200 pounds for the first hour, followed by 1,100 pounds for each hour afterward. The flight was about 900 nautical miles, and the first pilot planned to have 1,500 pounds of fuel after landing. He stated that he had the second pilot perform time-speed-distance calculations during the flight, and the results for ground speed ranged from 167 knots to 180 knots.

The first pilot stated that he climbed to a cruising altitude of 14,500 feet "to stay above the clouds" as they neared Spokane, flying over Boise-Lewiston-Pullman-Spokane. He stated that he constantly evaluated his fuel situation. Based on cockpit indications, the first pilot calculated to land with just under 1,000 pounds of fuel.

The first pilot stated that he noticed a fuel imbalance on the cockpit fuel gauges when he departed Deer Valley. He remembered the left gauge reading 4,100 pounds, and the right gauge reading 3,600 pounds. This is opposite of what he remembered the Boston gauges reading. He stated that he crossfed fuel from the left tank to both engines during cruise for "maybe 30 minutes" to re-balance the fuel. The second pilot stated that the crossfeed operation lasted "one hour maximum." The first pilot also stated that he observed the left boost pump not working (as indicated by the fuel pressure gauge) when he initiated the crossfeed operation. He remembered that he told the second pilot to check the circuit breakers, which he did. He reset the circuit breaker, and the left boost pump operated normally.

The first pilot stated that they "ran out of oxygen" so they asked for an IFR clearance to descend toward Spokane. He advised ATC that he had no distance measuring equipment (DME) or transponder. The flight was cleared to 10,000 feet, then down to 9,000 feet. The first pilot remembered that the left and right cockpit fuel gauges read between 400 and 600 pounds respectively when the airplane was about 30 miles from Spokane.

The first pilot stated that the left engine fuel light came on and the left engine lost power. He felt the adverse yaw. He stated that he turned on the left boost pump in an attempt to restore engine power. Since the engine power was not restored, he opened the crossfeed valve, turned on the right boost pump, turned off the left tank, and turned off the left boost pump. He stated that this restored power to the left engine, and he verified fuel flow to the left engine from the right boost pump. No Salair checklist exists for this procedure.

The first pilot stated that he thinks the "left tank ran out of gas" because engine power was not restored when he activated the left boost pump. He notified ATC of a potential low fuel situation. He then "toggled both engines back to 1,500 RPM and 20 inches." Both engines were running at AUTO LEAN to conserve fuel. Air traffic control cleared the flight down to 4,000 feet. The cowl flaps were then closed and the first pilot briefed the approach to the second pilot. The crew was handed off to approach control and cleared to intercept the localizer for the ILS approach to Runway 3 at Spokane.

When just outside the outer marker, the crew performed the landing checklist. The first pilot stated that the "left generator overheat warning" was lit. At that point, the first pilot turned off the cockpit heater, turned off the left generator, and observed the load meter on the right generator. The generator problem was rectified. The first pilot stated that the problem caused him to deviate right of course, so he initiated a left turn to re-intercept the localizer, followed by a right turn to re-establish the airplane on course. He stated that the angle of bank to re-intercept the localizer was "no more than 30 degrees."

The first pilot then called for landing gear down and selected approach flaps. He then performed the "landing checklist." He stated that one of the items in the landing checklist was for the fuel boost pumps on. He reached up and noticed the right boost pump was already on, so he had only to turn on the left boost pump, which is what he did. At that point, both low fuel pressure lights illuminated "about a second later." Both engines quit, and he could feel the loss of power. The first pilot said he then closed both throttles, declared a MAYDAY, selected full flaps down, immediately "put the nose down," and called for the landing gear to be raised.

The second pilot stated that the cockpit fuel gauges were reading 600 pounds on each side. The landing gea