ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 215473
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| Date: | Monday 17 September 2018 |
| Time: | 09:45 |
| Type: |  Beechcraft F33A Bonanza |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N2031D |
| MSN: | CE-809 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1978 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Cottonwood, AZ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Las Vegas-North Air Terminal, NV (VGT/KVGT) |
| Cottonwood Airport, AZ (P52) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The owner of the airplane and the pilot completed a cross-country flight; upon landing, the owner disembarked and the pilot departed alone on the return flight. Radar data showed that the airplane entered the traffic pattern at the origination airport at the conclusion of the return flight and, after turning onto the final leg of the traffic pattern for landing, the airplane continued to descend and impacted the roof of a home about 1/4 mile from the approach end of the runway.
A witness who responded to the site immediately after the accident stated that the pilot said "something about an engine problem." The left wing and fuel tank were mostly intact; the tank contained trace amounts of fuel. The inboard right wing, including the fuel tank, was mostly consumed by a postcrash fire. The fuel selector was found in the right tank position.
Postaccident examination of the airplane and test run of the engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The owner of the airplane stated that they departed on the first leg of the flight with the airplane fueled to capacity. About 30 minutes into the flight, they switched the fuel selector from the right tank to the left tank. Fuel consumption information from the airplane's Pilots Operating Handbook indicated that, if the airplane flew the remainder of the first leg of the flight and the entire return flight with the left fuel tank selected, the fuel consumed would have been about equal to the usable fuel available in that tank.
Given the lack of fuel found in the intact left main tank, the lack of mechanical anomalies found during examination, and the pilot's report of engine problems, it is likely that the pilot failed to switch the fuel selector during the return flight, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power. It is possible that the pilot switched fuel tanks following the loss of power but that the airplane's low altitude at the time of the power loss provided inadequate time to restore fuel flow and engine power before the airplane impacted the ground.
Probable Cause: The pilot's mismanagement of the available fuel, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.abc15.com/news/region-northern-az/prescott/plane-crashes-into-cottonwood-backyard-pilot-in-hospital
http://ktar.com/story/2224082/70-year-old-pilot-hurt-in-arizona-crash-of-small-plane-dies/
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N2031D/history/20180917/1405Z/tracklog
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=2031D%20
https://flightaware.com/photos/view/242857-05485768680eeda75b019e274073144e8e9617f5/aircrafttype/BE33
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
Pilot hurt after small plane clips part of Cottonwood home https://t.co/RZJPTEwm4h pic.twitter.com/pQr3uHWXLR
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) 17 septembre 2018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Sep-2018 21:40 | Geno | Added |
| 18-Sep-2018 07:58 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Time, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 18-Sep-2018 16:07 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Nature, Source, Embed code] |
| 18-Sep-2018 16:46 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Sep-2018 16:47 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Sep-2018 06:03 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Sep-2018 06:38 | harro | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 19-Sep-2018 15:35 | Zacky | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 18-Apr-2022 13:23 | aaronwk | Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 18-Apr-2022 19:59 | Captain Adam | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative, Photo] |
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