Cessna T240 N452CS

Summary

On 31 August 2015 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna T240 registered N452CS, operated by West Houston Airport, was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas, 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

31 August 2015 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

West Houston (IWS)

Coordinates

29.8094, -95.6689

Aircraft

Cessna T240

Registration

N452CS

Category

Airplane

Year built

2014

Operator

West Houston Airport

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Houston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15LA392

Nobody was injured.

The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, which resulted from the pilot’s inadequate fuel management and the flight instructor’s failure to verify the fuel level and fuel selector position in flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, before the instructional flight with the private pilot began, the fuel tanks were filled to capacity and he visually checked the quantity of the fuel in the tanks during the preflight. The flight instructor reported that, after taking off and completing the instrument flight rules training procedures, they returned to the airport and performed three full-stop landings. During the final takeoff, as the airplane was about 300 ft above ground level, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and subsequently conducted a forced landing to a field. The airplane landed, continued moving into trees, and then came to rest upright with the right main landing gear collapsed. A postaccident examination and three engine test runs were conducted, and no anomies were noted that would have precluded normal operation. The left fuel tank was found empty, and the right fuel tank contained about 25 gallons. Although the fuel selector valve was found in the "left off" position, it is likely that the left tank was selected during the accident flight and that the engine was starved of the available fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.