Beechcraft A23-24 N5779V

Summary

On 23 August 2011 at about 16:40 local time, a Beechcraft A23-24 registered N5779V was involved in an accident near Palo Alto, California, 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

23 August 2011 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Palo Alto, California, United States

Nearest airport

Palo Alto (KPAO)

Coordinates

37.7833, -122.2000

Aircraft

Beechcraft A23-24

Registration

N5779V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palo Alto → Palo Alto

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11FA403

Nobody was injured.

The student’s and flight instructor’s mismanagement of the fuel supply, resulting in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After about an hour of touch-and-go landings in the pattern, the student pilot switched the fuel selector from the right to the left fuel tank. Ten minutes later, after taking off and at 300 to 400 feet above ground level, the engine sustained a total loss of power. The flight instructor performed an off-airport landing on a dirt road. During the landing roll, the airplane’s left wing struck a tree, causing the airplane to veer off the road. The previous day, flight in the airplane started with 40 gallons of fuel and it was flown for 1.5 to 2 hours. The next day, no fuel was added, and the student and instructor flew 1 hour in the pattern. The total fuel used for both flights was between 25.6 and 31.0 gallons. During the recovery of the airplane, 12 gallons of fuel were drained from the right fuel tank, and 2 cups of fuel were drained from the left. During the postaccident engine examination, fuel was supplied and the engine was successfully started and run with no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the fuel system or engine. Consequently, the loss of engine power was a result of fuel starvation when the student selected the empty fuel tank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.