Beechcraft C23 N3KT

Summary

On 30 June 2013 at about 16:45 local time, a Beechcraft C23 registered N3KT, operated by Seymours Sundowners LLC, was involved in an accident near Hot Springs, Arkansas, 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

30 June 2013 at 16:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Memorial Field (HOT)

Coordinates

34.4586, -93.1322

Aircraft

Beechcraft C23

Registration

N3KT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Seymours Sundowners LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Austin → Hot Springs

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA381

Nobody was injured.

The pilots’ failure to monitor and manage fuel consumption during cruise flight, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane departed with 50 gallons of fuel onboard (confirmed by receipts and a lineman) of which 2.6 gallons was unusable. The pilots verified that the fuel was correct and was not contaminated. During the flight, they appropriately leaned the mixture for each altitude at which they were flying. About 1 hour into the flight, they switched to the left fuel tank, and about 1 hour 42 minutes later, they switched back to the right fuel tank. About 8 miles from the airport, the engine lost power. The pilots turned on the fuel pump, and the engine regained power briefly. They selected the left fuel tank, and the engine again regained power. The pilots expected to make the airport and estimated that 8 gallons of fuel remained, which would have met required fuel reserves. About 3 miles from the airport, the engine lost power again. The pilots switched to the right fuel tank. However, the engine produced short "bursts of power." At this point, the left seat pilot turned control over to the right seat pilot. A small, clear, grassy area was selected for a forced landing. The left wing impacted a tree, and the nose hit another tree. An examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks were intact. The flight's fuel planning was reviewed and found to be adequate to complete the flight. Using the manufacturer's "best power" fuel mixture setting, 41.6 gallons of fuel would be needed to complete the flight. However, 26 ounces of fuel was recovered from both fuel tanks. The pilots stated the fuel gauges worked during the flight. The pilot operating handbook indicated that it is "the pilot's responsibility to ascertain that the fuel quantity indicators are functioning and maintaining a reasonable degree of accuracy, and to be certain of ample fuel for a flight." It is likely that the pilots did not use the best power fuel mixture setting throughout the flight, thus burning more fuel than they had planned for the flight. However, they should have been monitoring the fuel consumption and landed before the fuel was exhausted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.