# NTSB WPR16LA113: Beech C23, N3724Y, Delano, CA, May 14, 2016 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 14, 2016, 11:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: Delano, CA - Coordinates: 35.722499, -119.2275 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.7225&lon=-119.2275&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report May 1, 2017 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: FAA Fresno FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 93215 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR16LA113 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/93215/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93215 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR16LA113 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s inadequate preflight and inflight fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid management (probable cause); cases with it: [Beech C23, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=1151242), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Beech C23, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=1151242), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) (defining event); cases with it: [Beech C23, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=1151242), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Beech C23, 25 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=1151242), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot was on a multi-leg, solo, cross-country flight. He stated that, while in cruise on the last leg of the flight, the engine began to sputter, so he switched the fuel selector from the right tank position to the left tank position. Shortly after switching fuel tanks, the engine experienced a total loss of power and the student performed a forced landing to an orange orchard. First responders reported that there was no fuel leaking from the airplane, and no fuel was observed in the airplane's fuel tanks. The student stated that, before the flight, he had filled the fuel tanks to the filler tabs, which equated to 37.4 total gallons of useable fuel. Review of performance information for the airplane revealed that the airplane would have used about 35.4 gallons of fuel at the time of the accident. However, variations in wind or engine power settings may have resulted in a higher fuel consumption on the accident flight. In a subsequent interview, the student pilot stated that he had exhausted the fuel in the right tank and could not restart the engine before the forced landing. ## Factual narrative On May 14, 2016, about 1100 Pacific daylight time, a Beechcraft C23 "Sundowner" airplane, N3724Y, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing, following a loss of engine power, in an orange orchard near Delano, California. The student pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was owned by a private individual and operated by the student pilot as a personal, cross-country flight under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight. The student pilot stated that he departed from the Bakersfield Municipal Airport (L45), Bakersfield, California, and flew to the west side of the valley practicing maneuvers before flying to Porterville Airport (PTV), Porterville, California, for a quick stop. The pilot then departed PTV, destined to Shafter Airport – Minter Field (MIT), Shafter, California. While en route, in the vicinity of Delano, the pilot stated that the airplane engine began to sputter. He switched the fuel selector from the right tank position to the left tank position. Shortly after he switched fuel tanks, the engine lost total power and he could not get it restarted, so he initiated a forced landing to an orange orchard. During the forced landing the airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot stated that he had filled the fuel tanks to the filler tabs, which equates to 37.4 gallons of useable fuel. Review of performance information for the make and model airplane revealed that, based on the reported fuel onboard the airplane at the beginning of the day, the airplane would have used about 35.4 gallons of fuel at the time of the accident. First responders to the accident scene reported that there was no fuel leaking from the airplane, and no fuel was observed in the airplane fuel tanks. In a later telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge, the pilot stated that he had run the right fuel tank out of fuel and couldn't get the engine primed before the forced landing occurred. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3724Y](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3724Y-2018-04-19), registration cancelled 2018-04-19, S/N M-2279, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BEECH C23 (NO SERIES) - Registry model: [Beech C23](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-c23) (registry code 1151242) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: M-2279 - Year built: 1980 - Airframe hours: 5725 - Engines: LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 1, 2015 - Departed: PTV, Porterville, CA - Destination: MIT, Shafter, CA ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 48; injuries: minor; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 61 total, 61 in this make and model, 20 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 310° at 7 knots, gusting 15 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.02 inHg - Observed at: KBFL, 19 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20160514008849A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160514008849A), May 14, 2016: Beech C23, Delano, CA, Destroyed. While enroute from ptv to mit, aircraft lost engine power after switching from right wing fuel tank to the left wing fuel tank. The pilot attempted to land at… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 30, 2017, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93215. 510 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 364 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40450556&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Record of Conversation (Pilot) (item 2, .PDF, 94 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40450557&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20(Pilot)-Master.PDF - Fuel Performance Calculation (item 3, .PDF, 52 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40450558&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Fuel%20Performance%20Calculation-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.