# NTSB WPR19TA162: Beech 35, N602BH, Medford, OR, June 8, 2019 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 3 · Final report - Date: June 8, 2019, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Medford, OR - Coordinates: 42.351665, -122.860557 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.3517&lon=-122.8606&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Initial climb: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Portland FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 99570 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR19TA162 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/99570/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99570 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR19TA162 ## Probable cause The pilot’s mismanagement of fuel onboard, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid management (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Initial climb: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Initial climb: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Initial climb: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis During the daytime visual flight rules flight, the private pilot experienced engine trouble. He was able to keep the engine running utilizing the auxiliary fuel pump and diverted to the departure airport. The pilot was unable to make it to the airport and descended into a residential neighborhood where the airplane was substantially damaged when it struck a tree. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the main fuel tanks had a sufficient quantity of fuel and that the auxiliary fuel tank was nearly empty. The fuel selector valve handle was found in the auxiliary fuel tank position. It is likely the pilot did not position the fuel selector switch to one of the main fuel tanks prior to consuming all the useable fuel in the auxiliary tank. This omission likely resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. ## Factual narrative On June 8, 2019, about 1400 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 35 airplane, N602BH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Rogue Valley International Airport (MFR), Medford, Oregon. The private pilot and his passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a statement from the pilot and passenger taken by a local law enforcement official, after departing MFR, the pilot began having engine trouble and returned to MFR. During the return portion of the flight, the engine quit several times. The airplane descended and struck a tree in a residential neighborhood about 1 mile from runway 32. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the passenger told him the pilot started having engine trouble and resorted to “pumping up and down on a device that kept the engine running.” He said when the pilot stopped pumping, the engine would quit and when he pumped, it would run. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed the main tanks "had plenty of gas", the aux tank was "nearly empty", and the tank selector switch was found in the auxiliary fuel tank position. Despite multiple attempts, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge was unable to talk to the pilot regarding the accident and did not receive an NTSB Form 6120.1. A records search at Million Air, Medford recovered a fuel receipt for N602BH, dated for the same day as the accident, for 18.5 gallons of 100 low lead aviation gasoline. ## Aircraft - Registration: N602BH (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Beech 35 (Undesignat) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: D-1223 - Year built: 1947 - Engines: Continental unknown - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: MFR, Medford, OR - Destination: BOI, Boise, ID - Airport: MFR, Rogue Valley Intl - Medford, runway 32, 8,800 × 150 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 38; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3 ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 350° at 10 knots, gusting 15 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 48 °F - Altimeter: 29.95 inHg - Observed at: KMFR, 2 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 20190608006189A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190608006189A), Jun 8, 2019: Beech 35, Medford, OR, Substantial damage. Aircraft departed Medford airport (kmfr) enroute to boise Idaho. Soon after departing, airman reported an issue with the fuel pump and returned to the airport.… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 26, 2022, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99570. 703 KB in all. - Witness statements (item 1, PDF, 3 pages, 206 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13723782&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memo%20for%20record%20Combined_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Fuel receipt (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 40 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9658088&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N690BH%20Fuel%20Receipt-Rel.pdf - Statement of party representatives to NTSB investigation (item 3, PDF, 2 pages, 132 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9658738&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Signed%20NTSB%20Party%20Letter%208-2017%20MC_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 4, PDF, 3 pages, 326 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9659240&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WPR19LA162%20Photos-Rel.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.