Beech 35C33 accident near Whiteville, NC

On October 31, 2017, a Beech 35C33 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Whiteville, NC. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

October 31, 2017

Place

Whiteville, NC

Aircraft

Beech 35C33 · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 1 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

34.264°N, 78.727°W

NTSB ID

20171031X10138

Official records · ERA18FA012

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• N293GC - ATC Radar Overlays: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• N293GC - ATC Tabular Radar Data: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 31, 2017, about 1002 eastern daylight time, a Beech 35-C33 airplane, N293GC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Whiteville, North Carolina. The pilot was fatally injured, and the passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot-rated passenger, the pilot had initially intended to fly from Cannon Creek Airport (15FL), Lake City, Florida, to Lake City Gateway Airport (LCQ), Lake City, Florida, for fuel, but the fixed-base-operator there was closed, so they decided to refuel at Columbus County Municipal Airport (CPC), Whiteville, North Carolina, and then at Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), Leesburg, Virginia, on their way to their final destination of Westerly State Airport (WST), Westerly, Rhode Island. The pilot-rated passenger stated that, on the morning of the accident, during the preflight inspection of the airplane, he and the pilot noticed that the fuel level was about 1/2 inch above the tabs in both fuel tanks; the pilot told the passenger that the airplane's engine would consume about 11.5 gallons per hour in cruise flight. After departing 15FL, they flew with the fuel selector in the right tank position for 1 hour 25 minutes. When they were about 40 minutes from CPC, the pilot switched the fuel selector to the left tank position. The pilot-rated passenger stated that, during the final approach to runway 6 at CPC, when the airplane was about 700 ft mean sea level , the pilot switched the fuel selector to th

Probable cause

The pilot's mismanagement of the available fuel, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, and his delayed reaction to the loss of engine power, which led to impact with trees as he was attempting to switch fuel tanks. Contributing to the accident was pilot's decision to operate the airplane with a malfunctioning fuel quantity indication system.

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Browse: North Carolina · Beech aircraft

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.