CORSICANA, TX, USA
N873LB
Beech D55
The airplane was on a night cross-country freight flight. A pilot witness reported that the pilot told him, on 122.85, that his left engine had failed. A second pilot witness reported hearing the pilot transmit that the engine came back on line when he switched to the aux tank, but he decided to make a precautionary landing prior to Dallas anyway. The pilot transmitted to ATC: 'I will contact you when I get on the ground and let you know the name of the airport.' The airport had pilot controlled lighting, on 122.80, which included a VASI approach system. The airplane was found with the gear down, the flaps down, the left propeller at low pitch but not feathered, and the right engine throttle at idle. The fuel selectors were found with the right one on the main tank and the left one on the aux tank. No fuel was found in the left wing tanks. The second pilot witness stated that she flew the airplane the night before, and that fuel had siphoned from the left main tank, which she reported to dispatch upon landing. Postcrash examination of the left wing main fuel port collar revealed deformations in the collar. The pilot had completed his Part 135 check ride 3 days before the accident.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 5, 1996, at approximately 0227 central daylight time, a Beech D55, N873LB, was destroyed following a loss of control while on approach to the Corsicana Municipal Airport, near Corsicana, Texas. The commercial pilot, sole occupant in the airplane, was fatally injured. The airplane was owned and operated by GTA Investments Inc. of Carrollton, Texas, dba GTA Air as a Title 14 CFR Part 135 cargo flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the night cross country cargo flight which originated from Houston, Texas, approximately 57 minutes before the accident. A company VFR flight plan had been filed with the destination of Dallas Love Field, Dallas, Texas. The pilot was employed as a night freight pilot (carrying bank checks) and his scheduled route that night was Monroe, Louisiana, to Shreveport, Louisiana, to Dallas, Texas, to Houston, Texas, to Dallas, Texas, to Shreveport, Louisiana. The first three legs of the night cross country were flown in Beech Baron N303JS, model BE-55E. The pilot changed airplanes in Houston, Texas, to Beech Baron N873LB, model BE-55D. The company Chief Pilot reported to the IIC that normal company fueling procedures were to "top the fuel tanks off in Dallas, and that was more than enough fuel to fly to Houston and return to Dallas." The Chief Pilot further reported that company pilots were trained to "start engines, taxi, takeoff, and climb to cruise altitude on main tanks, and then switch to auxiliary tanks for cruise flight." Auxiliary fuel was to be used until the tanks were empty unless an intermediate landing was performed, which would be done on the main fuel tanks. Records indicate that this airplane had last been refueled in Dallas and flown directly to Houston where it was transferred to the pilot. A pilot witness, who flies for the same company, reported that he departed Houston for Dallas approximately 13 minutes before the pilot of the accident airplane. He reported that the accident airplane caught up with him, in his single engine airplane, "north of Leona VOR." The pilot witness further reported that "soon after the pilot passed me, he said his left engine had quit." A few minutes passed, then the pilot "started to question the fuel quantity and wanted to know how accurate the gauges were." A second pilot witness, who also flies for the same company, reported hearing the pilot say "the engine came back on line when he switched to the aux tank, but he decided to make a precautionary landing prior to Dallas anyway." The second pilot witness was flying from San Antonio to Dallas during this same time period; she transmitted to the pilot that she had experienced a problem with fuel being siphoned out through what she thought was a faulty fuel cap on the night of September 4, 1996. She reported in her witness statement that she "switched the fuel tanks from main to aux, and the left engine came back on the line. I landed at Dallas Love Field uneventfully, and told dispatch about the problem." The second pilot further stated "there were definite fuel stains streaming from the left main fuel cap." The pilot, in an ATC recording, at 0225:10, reported to the controller: "center uh 873LB, we're gonna have to land at a small airport out here; we're having a little bit of engine problems. I do not wish to declare an emergency at this time." Approximately 12 seconds later the pilot said to center "I will contact you when I get on the ground and let you know the name of the airport." Next the controller asked the pilot if he had the airport in sight; and there was no response by the pilot. At 0225:33 the controller said "83LB [873LB] uh roger, are you going to Corsicanna just to your south there about 150 bearing." The pilot responded "you go ahead on." The first pilot witness indicated that there were several minutes of discussion during this time period on the company frequency of 122.85. The radio exchanges were about whether the pilot witness should land to pick up the pilot's freight. It was decided that he would continue on to Dallas. The last transmission that the pilot witness made to the pilot was "I'm not going to land, I'm continuing on to Dallas." The pilot witness did not hear a response from the pilot. A ground witness reported the following: "on that morning I was unable to sleep and was laying in my bed. I noticed an airplane flying overhead. What brought my attention to this plane was that the engine sounded louder than normal. As I lay listening, the engine suddenly stopped. After a few seconds of silence I heard a loud thud." . PERSONNEL INFORMATION According to the pilot's log book and the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, the pilot had been flying the company's multiengine airplanes for 9 days and had accumulated approximately 18.9 hours of flight time. He successfully completed his Part 135 check ride 3 days before the accident. The pilot had flown, according to company records, an estimated 1886 hours of flight time of which 592 hours were multiengine airplane. Company personnel further stated that to the best of their knowledge, the majority of the pilot's multiengine time was in a Model 95 Beech Travel Air, which is the predecessor to the BE-55 series. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The accident airplane was a D55 model Beech Baron. There were four fuel tanks in the airplane, a 37 gallon main tank and a 31 gallon auxiliary tank in each wing. A fuel selector in the cockpit allowed the pilot to select which tank fuel was taken from to run the engine. Additionally, the pilot had the option of cross feeding an engine from the fuel tanks in the opposite wing (see attached emergency procedures from the manufacturers Pilot Owners Handbook). The two fuel tanks in each wing were equipped with one fuel quantity gauge; the pilot had a selector switch to determine which tank was being read by the gauge. The airplane that the pilot flew the first three legs of the trip in was an E55 model Beech Baron. In this model airplane, the fuel tanks in each wing are manifolded together and when the pilot selects fuel, it is either on or off. Additionally, the pilot has the same option of cross feeding an engine from the fuel tanks in the opposite wing as in the D55 model. The fuel quantity gauge for each wing reads the total fuel in that wing. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION There were two National Weather Service facilities equal distant from the accident site: Dallas, located 60 NM to the north, at 0150, was reporting calm winds, 8 statue miles visibility, a temperature of 73 degrees and a dew point of 68 degrees. Waco, located 60 NM to the southwest, at 0153, was reporting calm winds, 6 statue miles visibility, a temperature of 71 degrees and a dew point of 70 degrees. The moonrise was at 1251 and 41% of the moon's visible disk was illuminated. AERODROME INFORMATION The Corsicanna Municipal tower is attended by a controller from 0800 to dusk. The airport's Medium Intensity Runway Lights (MIRL) are preset to medium intensity and can be increased to maximum intensity by the pilot keying his microphone 7 times within 5 seconds on the CTAF frequency of 122.80. Runway 14 has a Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) which is also activated by the pilot keying his microphone 7 times within 5 seconds on the CTAF frequency. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The airplane was found in an upright orientation approximately 400 feet left of the extended centerline for runway 14 and approximately 1000 feet short of the approach end of the runway. The longitudinal heading of the fuselage was 350 degrees magnetic. A tree, approximately 55 feet prior to the first impact point, was missing leaves and small branches on a magnetic heading to the impact point of 095 degrees. The height of the missing leaves and small branches in the tree indicate an estimated angle to the first impact point of approximately 50 degrees down from the horizon. The landing gear was found in the down position. The flaps were found 30 degrees down, which is the full down position. All structural components were accounted for and control continuity was confirmed. The left side of the fuselage, in the area of the wing root, exhibited extensive damage with a crush line extending aft below the left cargo area window. The left wing was found separated from the fuselage with only flight control cables remaining connected. Approximately 4 feet of the left wing tip was bent up at a 45 degree angle. The clock in the airplane was found stopped, at 0227. The VSI (vertical speed indicator) was found at 3500 feet per minute down. The airplane's communication radios were found on frequencies 135.25 and 122.85. The fuel selectors were found with the right one on the main tank and the left one on the auxiliary tank. No fuel was found in either the left main fuel tank or the left auxiliary fuel tank. Examination of the left wing revealed blue stains emanating from the left main fuel port and extending aft over the trailing edge flap (see photographs). The left main fuel bladder was removed from it's wing compartment and examination revealed three deformations in the fuel port collar (see photographs). The engines were removed from the airplane and shipped to the manufacturer for examination. The right engine was mounted on a teardown stand, minor repairs were performed, and the engine was test run in a test cell. The engine started immediately, ran and accelerated smoothly. The left engine was damaged to such a degree that it could not be test run. The valve covers were removed to verify rocker arm movements, total engine continuity was confirmed, and thumb compression was felt at all cylinders. The fuel injection components, from the left engine, were removed and placed on the right engine and a functional test was performed. The engine was started, run, and accelerated smoothly. See the enclosed manufacturer's report. The engine control quadrant was found with the left propeller lever at low RPM and the right propeller lever at high RPM. The left throttle lever was found full forward and the right throttle lever was found in the engine idle position. Both mixture levers were full forward (see photograph). The left propeller was removed from it's engine and shipped to the manufacturer for examination. The propeller manufacturer's representative reported that: "The propeller was being operated under conditions of low power at impact, and was probably windmilling. The propeller was operating at, or very near, the low pitch stop at impact." See enclosed manufacturer's report. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION An autopsy and toxicological tests were ordered and performed. The autopsy was performed by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences at Dallas, Texas, on September 5, 1996. Toxicology test results were negative. ADDITIONAL DATA The airplane was released to the owner's representative.
The pilot's failure to maintain minimum control airspeed which resulted in the loss of control. Factors were the bent collar of the left main fuel tank refueling neck which resulted in fuel siphoning from the tank in flight, the pilot's failure to follow procedures to cross feed fuel from the right main tank to the left engine which led to left engine power loss by fuel starvation, the pilot's lack of total experience in the make and model of airplane, and the dark night light condition.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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