Beechcraft 23 N2376L

Summary

On 7 August 2024 at about 19:44 local time, a Beechcraft 23 registered N2376L was involved in an accident near Jacksonville, Florida, 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

7 August 2024 at 19:44

Classification

Accident

Location

Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Herlong Recreational (HEG)

Coordinates

30.2757, -81.8001

Aircraft

Beechcraft 23

Registration

N2376L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA24LA341

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper inflight fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation while on final approach to land, and the subsequent hard landing, which resulted in separation of the airplane’s landing gear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to fly in the traffic pattern to see if the engine was leaking oil, as he had recently observed trace amounts of oil in the cowling. After completing a normal preflight inspection and an engine run-up the pilot took off and completed one traffic pattern circuit overflying the runway. He climbed back to traffic pattern altitude and made an approach to the runway with the intent to land. The pilot reported that the airplane seemed slow as he approached the runway numbers, so he increased the throttle; however, the engine rpm decreased to near idle. He continued to report that, about 20 ft above ground level, the airplane dropped to the runway and landed hard on the runway centerline. The left main landing gear separated and the airplane skidded to a stop in the grass to the left of the runway. The left wing and fuselage received substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine, which included a successful test run of the engine, did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Following the accident, the fuel selector was found selected to the intact right wing fuel tank, which contained about 3 gallons of fuel. The left wing fuel tank contained about 9 gallons of fuel. According to the pilot operating handbook for the accident airplane, each fuel tank contained 3.8 gallons of unusable fuel. Based on this information, it is likely that the total loss of engine power was the result of fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.