Nearly all fuel-related accidents are preventable, yet they occur all the time. The NTSB says some 95% of these accidents happen to otherwise fully-functional aircraft whose pilots simply failed to manage their fuel.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) published its final report this week on one such accident that took place earlier this year, on April 23. A Beech 95-C55 Baron went down near Lakin, West Virginia, thanks to fuel starvation. What followed was, predictably, loss of power in both engines and, ultimately, a forced landing in the woods. The Baron suffered substantial damage, but its 79-year-old commercial-rated pilot thankfully survived, though with serious injuries.
When it happened, the pilot was heading back to his departure airport. When his left engine failed while at 3,000 feet, the pilot said he feathered the propeller and started applying more power to the right engine. That was when he discovered that it, too, had lost power.
The NTSB said the main fuel tanks were empty, although both auxiliary tanks still contained more than half their fuel capacities. The pilot later acknowledged that he was relying on his cockpit fuel indicators before departing, which he said indicated between a quarter and half tank of fuel each before he left. Given his short flight and the fuel quantities indicated by his fuel gauges, he chose not to refuel the plane before taking off. He told investigators that he should have switched to auxiliary tanks immediately after the engine failures.
In its probable cause statement, the NTSB cited the pilot’s “inadequate preflight inspection and inadequate inflight fuel management.”
It’s basic stuff, but it can happen to any of us, if we let it. The NTSB mentioned in the report that fuel-management accidents happened an average of more than 50 times per year between 2011-2015.
Don’t skip your checklist items. Visually verify your fuel. Know your fuel burn rate. Plan accordingly and avoid stretching reserves. A few minutes saved is never worth the risk of bent metal or, God forbid, something much worse.
Good article, thank you for “follow the checklist” reminder.
Is there a reason you showed a picture of the N-number of someone else’s Cherokee with this report about a Beech Travel Air running out of gas? It’s a bit insulting to the owner/pilot of the Cherokee whose N-number you showed directly under the headline “Fuel Starvation Led to Crash in West Virginia”.
I used to trust Avweb for accurate reporting on Aviation topics. They always provided better, more reliable articles than the rest of the aviation ignorant media. I can see now with the new management that accuracy is no longer important. Ron thanks for alerting us to this error. I hope that it will be corrected but I doubt anyone even cares.
For 25 years I’ve been flying by the bladder method. 2-3 hours in, after taking off with fully fuel, and I’m on the ground. Getting gas and using the bathroom.
Just for info @wingmanxd. Your comment is the only one hidden/ invisible on the actual news article page. Only visible within the forum.
I`m not sure why it is hidden. I guess someone didn’t like what I said.