Britten-Norman BN-2A-20 N6561B

Summary

On 15 July 2007 at about 23:00 local time, a Britten-Norman BN-2A-20 registered N6561B, operated by Mountain Bird, Inc., was involved in an accident near Stanley, Idaho, United States. One person was 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

15 July 2007 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Stanley, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Stanley (2U7)

Coordinates

44.2086, -114.9344

Aircraft

Britten-Norman BN-2A-20

Registration

N6561B

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Mountain Bird, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Stanley → Salmon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07CA221

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to verify that the airplane was refueled, which resulted in a loss of engine power from both engines due to fuel exhaustion and a forced landing. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, before the flight, prior to the accident flight, he placed a fuel order, but did not verify that the twin-engine airplane was refueled before departing with 8 passengers for a cross country flight. This flight reached its destination without incident, the passengers exited the airplane, and the pilot then departed as the sole occupant of the airplane on a repositioning flight. Shortly after takeoff, at an altitude of about 400 feet agl, the left engine "started to sputter." The pilot executed the engine failure checklist and upon retarding the left throttle, the airplane yawed to the left "giving [the pilot] the impression it was still producing power." He decided not to shut down the engine and began a right turn to return to the departure airport. During the turn, the right engine "started to sputter," and he noticed the "fuel tank indicators were both on empty." The pilot decided "to leave all controls forward and gave no further thought to shutting down or feathering either engine." Shortly thereafter, he realized he would not make the runway and elected to land in an open field. During the landing roll, the airplane encountered a ditch, resulting in collapse of the left main landing gear.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.