Beechcraft A60 N7466D

Summary

On 14 February 2013 at about 16:20 local time, a Beechcraft A60 registered N7466D, operated by Frank Leroy Bell, was involved in an accident near Abilene, Texas, 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

14 February 2013 at 16:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Abilene, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.5086, -99.6072

Aircraft

Beechcraft A60

Registration

N7466D

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Frank Leroy Bell

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Smith → Abilene

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13CA162

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power 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 reported that he had added fuel at the previous fuel stop and that he was using a fuel totalizer to determine the quantity of fuel onboard. After climbing to a cruise altitude of 14,000 feet above ground level, he discovered that the fuel mixture control was frozen and that he was unable to lean the mixture to a lower fuel flow setting. The pilot reported that because of the increased fuel consumption, he briefly considered an en route stop for additional fuel but decided to continue. During descent, the airplane experienced a complete loss of power in both engines, and the pilot made an emergency off-field, gear-up landing about 7 miles from the destination. The airplane impacted terrain and thick scrub trees, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings, both engine mounts, and the fuselage. A postaccident examination found that only a trace of fuel remained. The pilot also reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure and that his inadequate fuel management was partly because he had become overconfident in his abilities after 50 years of flying.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.