Beech 33 accident near Cottonwood, AZ
On September 17, 2018, a Beech 33 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Cottonwood, AZ. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 17, 2018
- Place
- Cottonwood, AZ
- Aircraft
- Beech 33 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.723°N, 112.029°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180918X21405
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 17, 2018, about 0945 mountain standard time, a Beech F33A airplane, N2031D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Cottonwood, Arizona. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The owner of the airplane stated that he and the pilot flew from Cottonwood Airport (P52), Cottonwood, Arizona, to North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), Las Vegas, Nevada. The airplane was fueled to capacity 2 days before the flight and was not flown until the day of the accident. The owner estimated that the airplane could fly 6.5 hours of total flight time with that amount of fuel and stated that the ForeFlight application estimated a flight time of 1 hour 10 minutes between P52 and VGT. A preflight inspection of the airplane revealed no anomalies, and the pilots departed on the flight to VGT. About 30 minutes into the flight, they switched from the right fuel tank to the left tank. The flight was uneventful, and the owner was very confident in the pilot's control of the airplane. He stated that the right wing tank was about 1/2 full and the left wing tank was about 3/4 full when they landed. After landing at VGT, the owner disembarked the airplane with the engine still running. The owner then drove back to Cottonwood, and the pilot embarked alone on the return flight. Radar data showed that, as the airplane approached P52, it entered a right downwind leg for runway 32. The airplane made a right turn for the base leg for runway 32 and began to descend, then continued
Probable cause
The pilot's mismanagement of the available fuel, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
More accidents in AZ
- De Havilland DHC-6-300, Sep 27, 1989
- Cessna 402C, Jun 19, 1992
- Piper PA-31-350, Aug 17, 1983
- Piper PA-31-350, Feb 13, 1995
- Cessna 421C, Sep 2, 1995
Browse: Arizona · 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.
