Cessna 414A N79NS

Summary

On 14 May 2006 at about 20:47 local time, a Cessna 414A registered N79NS was involved in an accident near Pompano Beach, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 May 2006 at 20:47

Classification

Accident

Location

Pompano Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Lauderdale Executive (FXE)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 414A

Registration

N79NS

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Stuart → Fort Lauderdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA06LA108

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight/planning due to his failure to assure an adequate supply of fuel was available for the flight, resulting in the loss of engine power in both engines due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot-in-command (PIC) stated that the flight departed with 45 gallons of fuel, proceeded toward the destination airport, and when the flight was approximately 3 miles north of the destination airport, the right engine began to surge. At that time, the left and right fuel gauges and noted they indicated "...just below 20 gallons..." and "...10-15 gallons" respectively. He began troubleshooting the problem with the right engine, requested "...priority to land" with the tower, and started turning toward the field. The controller asked him if he was declaring an emergency, he advised he was not. The controller advised him not to turn base because he would be on top of another airplane. He turned back onto the downwind leg and at that time, the left engine began experiencing problems. He then declared an emergency and turned towards the airport but recognized he was unable to reach the airport. He landed on a road. The PIC further stated that fire rescue set up sand barriers, with the largest containing fuel from the airplane. The barrier that contained the spilled fuel was approximately 5 feet long by 3-4 feet wide, and the depth of fuel inside the barrier was approximately 4-5 inches deep. Fire rescue personnel reported estimating 5-10 gallons of fuel leakage. Postaccident examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed no visible fuel in the left wing fuel tank, and no fuel when the left wing sump drain was opened. Following recovery of the airplane, fuel lines in each engine compartment were examined and no fuel was found at the left engine fuel manifold valve, while "...trace amounts of fuel..." were found at the right engine fuel manifold valve. No fuel was detected at "...either left or right fuel inlet lines at engine driven fuel pumps" nor at the outlet side of the left engine driven fuel pump. Only a "...small amount..." of fuel was found in the outlet side of the right engine driven fuel pump. Only "...small amounts of fuel..." were found in the fuel inlet housing at each servo fuel injector (fuel servo). The total unusable fuel quantity is 9.4 gallons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.