ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 241310
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| Date: | Saturday 12 September 2020 |
| Time: | 11:43 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N7602Y |
| MSN: | 30-672 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1964 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4736 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-320 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | SE of Billings Logan International Airport (BIL/KBIL), Billings, MT -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | St. Paul, MN (21D) |
| Billings, MT | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
According to the FAA, the pilot contacted the air traffic control tower at the destination airport and requested clearance to land on runway 28. The pilot mentioned that the airplane had one engine 'out' but did not share details, nor did he declare an emergency. As the airplane was on short final, the pilot made another radio call to the tower indicating that he lost the second engine. The airplane landed short of the runway against a cliffside. On scene law enforcement reported that they did not smell fuel at the accident site, nor was fuel present in the unbreeched fuel tanks. Postaccident examination of the airframe and both engines did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operations.
The pilot does not recall the accident; however, he recalls that he had an issue with the right engine and had to shut it down. Estimated fuel calculations were completed assuming the fuel tanks were full and 75% power was used. The airplane would have consumed 77.4 gallons of the 84 usable gallons during the 4.5 hr accident flight. The calculations did not account for variables such as engine leaning, wind, climb, or descent. Taking those variables into account, it is likely that the airplane did not have enough fuel to complete the flight.
Probable Cause: The pilot's improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB WPR20LA308
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N7602Y
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 22 July 1966 | N7602Y | Private | 2 | Gordo, Pickens County, Alabama | |
w/o |
| Fuel starvation | ||||||
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Sep-2020 22:05 | Geno | Added |
| 13-Sep-2020 06:32 | Anon. | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Sep-2020 07:17 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 29-Jun-2021 19:11 | aaronwk | Updated [Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category] |
| 03-Jul-2022 05:42 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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