Beechcraft V35A N95DC

Summary

On 31 March 2003 at about 03:30 local time, a Beechcraft V35A registered N95DC was involved in an accident near North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 March 2003 at 03:30

Classification

Accident

Location

North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

North Las Vegas (KVGT)

Coordinates

36.2117, -115.1958

Aircraft

Beechcraft V35A

Registration

N95DC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Las Vegas → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

LAX03LA121

1 person was seriously injured.

Fuel starvation due to the pilot's mismanagement of his fuel supply and failure to verify the fuel quantity onboard prior to departure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane lost engine power at 300 feet during the climb out from a touch-and-go and collided with obstacles during the forced landing. The pilot said he visually checked the fuel level in both main tanks before the flight and said he could see that the fuel level was below the lower tab (the tab indicates 27 gallons of usable fuel per the pilot's operating handbook). He estimated that the airplane had about 15 gallons in each main tank. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed that there was no evidence of fuel in either the left main or the left tip tanks. The right main and right tip tanks had been breached, making it not possible to determine the amount of fuel on board. Examination of the fuel system disclosed no evidence of fuel in any of the fuel lines or the left main and left tip fuel tanks. No evidence of mechanical malfunction or failure was found in the engine. The top spark plugs were removed and visually examined. All exhibited lean operating signatures.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.