Beechcraft D35 N3446B

Summary

On 1 September 2010 at about 17:30 local time, a Beechcraft D35 registered N3446B was involved in an accident near Guymon, Oklahoma, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 September 2010 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Guymon, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Guymon Municipal Airport (GUY)

Coordinates

36.6850, -101.5078

Aircraft

Beechcraft D35

Registration

N3446B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Roanoke → Guymon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10CA517

1 person had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he departed on a cross-country flight with 49 gallons of fuel on-board the airplane. About 3 hours later, as he approached his destination airport, the airplane’s engine surged followed by a total loss of power. The pilot suspected that the engine had experienced vapor lock/fuel blockage and attempted to resolve the problem by selecting each of the airplane’s three fuel tanks and affirming that the mixture control was in the full rich position. The airplane continued to descend and the pilot elected to conduct a forced landing at his destination airport. The airplane did not have sufficient altitude and the pilot made a hard landing diagonally across the runway. During the landing, the airplane’s nose gear collapsed and the right wing was substantially damaged. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane on-site and reported that it appeared the underside of the fuselage had blue stains on it akin to the coloration of fuel; he noted that the fuel caps had duct tape on them. The inspector was unable to determine if the airplane’s fuel tanks contained fuel. The reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.