Beechcraft C23 N3724Y

Summary

On 14 May 2016 at about 18:00 local time, a Beechcraft C23 registered N3724Y was involved in an accident near Delano, California, 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

14 May 2016 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Delano, California, United States

Coordinates

35.7225, -119.2275

Aircraft

Beechcraft C23

Registration

N3724Y

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Porterville → Shafter

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR16LA113

1 person had minor injuries.

The student pilot’s inadequate preflight and inflight fuel planning, which resulted in a total 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 student pilot was on a multi-leg, solo, cross-country flight. He stated that, while in cruise on the last leg of the flight, the engine began to sputter, so he switched the fuel selector from the right tank position to the left tank position. Shortly after switching fuel tanks, the engine experienced a total loss of power and the student performed a forced landing to an orange orchard. First responders reported that there was no fuel leaking from the airplane, and no fuel was observed in the airplane's fuel tanks. The student stated that, before the flight, he had filled the fuel tanks to the filler tabs, which equated to 37.4 total gallons of useable fuel. Review of performance information for the airplane revealed that the airplane would have used about 35.4 gallons of fuel at the time of the accident. However, variations in wind or engine power settings may have resulted in a higher fuel consumption on the accident flight. In a subsequent interview, the student pilot stated that he had exhausted the fuel in the right tank and could not restart the engine before the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.