Zena, OK, USA
N7555N
BEECH E33A
After about 2.5 hours of cross-country night flight, the engine lost all power near an airport where the pilot planned to refuel. The pilot stated that he thought that he ran out of fuel and executed a forced landing to a vegetated field about 1 mile from the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and front of the fuselage. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical anomalies with the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The left-wing tank was found dry and the right fuel tank was found with about 1 inch of unusable fuel at the accident site. The fuel selector switch was found in the left fuel tank position. The pilot did not know how much fuel was onboard the airplane at the time of departure and had delayed refueling the airplane due to the price of fuel.
On July 20, 2022, about 2330 central daylight time, a Beech E33A airplane, N7555N, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Zena, Oklahoma. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The pilot reported that he was enroute on a night cross-country flight that originated from Colorado Springs, Colorado. The pilot did not recall how much fuel was onboard the airplane when he departed Colorado Springs. His destination was Siloam Springs, Arkansas. However, he planned to refuel at the South Grand Lake Regional Airport (1K8), Ketchum, Oklahoma, because the fuel was less expensive there than it was at Colorado Springs. After about 2.5 hours of flight, he thought that he was going to run out of fuel. Near his destination, he tried to make the airport, but the engine lost all power. The pilot executed a forced landing to a field about 1 mile from 1K8, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing and front of the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. The propeller assembly was turned by hand and normal thumb compression was attained. The spark plugs exhibited normal wear. Engine valve- and drive-train continuity was confirmed to the engine accessory section. The throttle body and mixture control connections and linkages in the cockpit and engine were intact. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to the flight control surfaces. The left wing fuel tank was found dry. About 1 inch of fuel was found in the right wing fuel tank. There appeared to be no leaks from either fuel tanks at the accident site, and no fuel blight was present on the ground. The fuel selector switch was found in the left fuel tank position. NTSB form 6120 Pilot/Operator reports were not received from the pilot or the owner. The owner of the airplane reported that he had sold the airplane after the accident and could not provide maintenance records.
The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection and fuel planning, and improper in-flight decision making which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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