Beechcraft 36 N361TC

Summary

On 6 December 2018 at about 20:30 local time, a Beechcraft 36 registered N361TC was involved in an accident near Los Banos, California, 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

6 December 2018 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Los Banos, California, United States

Nearest airport

Los Banos Muni (LSN)

Coordinates

37.0639, -120.8697

Aircraft

Beechcraft 36

Registration

N361TC

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

San Jose → Los Banos

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19LA039

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After almost 1 hour of flight, the pilot turned onto the left base leg of the traffic pattern at the destination airport, where he intended to practice takeoffs and landings. During the turn, the engine began to sputter. The pilot turned toward the runway and tried to maintain clearance from trees located on the outside of the airport perimeter fence; however, the propeller and landing gear impacted the fence. The airplane came to rest upright about 5 ft from the runway edge, resulting in substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the engine and fuel system revealed no anomalies. The fuel selector handle had been removed, but the rod that rotated the valve remained intact and attached to the unit. The fuel selector was disassembled, and the ring was found located between detents. Based on its position, it may have been positioned between the left- and right-wing tip tanks; however, the position of the fuel selector at the time of the loss of engine power could not be determined. The pilot reported that there were 74 gallons of fuel onboard at the time of departure; however, neither the distribution of the fuel nor the fuel onboard at the time of the accident was determined. The reason for the partial loss of engine power could not be determined based on the available information.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.