Beechcraft B200 N220KW

Summary

On 8 September 2023 at about 23:41 local time, a Beechcraft B200 registered N220KW, operated by Onyx Flight, Inc, was involved in an accident near Elk Grove Village, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 September 2023 at 23:41

Classification

Accident

Location

Elk Grove Village, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Chicago O'hare Intl (ORD)

Coordinates

42.0390, -88.0062

Aircraft

Beechcraft B200

Registration

N220KW

Category

Airplane

Year built

1983

Engines

2

Operator

Onyx Flight, Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chicago → Chicago

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA406

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s improper fuel planning, that resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, and a subsequent forced landing. Also causal was the pilot’s decision to go around with minimum fuel.

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 completed a charter flight and departed to pick up new passengers at an airport about 200 nautical miles away. While on approach to the destination airport, the previous passengers notified the pilot that they were ready to be picked up, so the pilot did not land and turned the airplane back toward the departure airport. The pilot climbed to 10,000 ft and noticed the airplane’s fuel burn was high, so he climbed to 16,000 ft. The pilot reported that “everything was routine until about a 3-mile final” to the runway, when the controller asked the pilot to slow to a final approach speed. An airplane was still on the runway, so the controller told the pilot to go around. The pilot told controllers twice that he had minimum fuel available. The pilot continued on a visual approach for the same runway when the right engine lost power followed by the left engine. He feathered both propellers and made a forced landing to a wooded area. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, and the empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot later stated that he was “trying to do too much with too little” fuel and the accident was a result of poor fuel management. Although the controller directed the pilot to go around, the pilot should have recognized the criticality of the minimum fuel situation and landed the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.