Beech V35A accident near Clinton, LA
On March 10, 1996, a Beech V35A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Clinton, LA. 2 people were seriously injured. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 10, 1996
- Place
- Clinton, LA
- Aircraft
- Beech V35A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 2 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 30.860°N, 91.009°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X05399
NTSB summary
On March 9, 1996, approximately 2355 central standard time, a Beech V35A, N8323N, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Clinton, Louisiana. The commercial pilot and the passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private owner. The Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight originated at 2210 in Jackson, Tennessee, and the intended destination was Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight plan was filed. According to the pilot, the airplane was descending through 6,500 feet MSL, and the fuel selector was on the right tank, which was "indicating 1/4 tank," when the engine lost power. He switched to the left tank, which was "showing 1/3 tank," and attempted to restart the engine "several" times without success. A forced landing ensued to a "timbered field" and the airplane touched down with a "heavy vertical impact." Examination of the airplane by the FAA inspector revealed that the fuel tank selector was in the right tank position. During recovery of the airplane, when the wings were removed from the airplane, the right wing tank was found to be "dry of fuel" and approximately 9 gallons of fuel was drained from the left wing tank. On March 21, 1996, an engine tear down inspection was performed (report enclosed). All 12 of the Champion RHB32E spark plugs were found to have "excessive plug gap," and a test on 2 of the plugs performed with a spark plug testing machine revealed that the "plugs would not fire over 40 psi of pressure." According to the engine manufact
Probable cause
the pilot's improper positioning of the fuel selector which resulted in fuel starvation. Factors were the dark night light condition and the worn spark plugs.
More accidents in LA
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Browse: Louisiana · Beech aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
