Incident Overview
A pilot reported to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that he was departing from Minden after having an oil change. He departed with approximately 10 gallons of fuel onboard, with the left fuel tank selected. Due to departing traffic, he became distracted and inadvertently took off with the fuel tank that contained the lesser amount of fuel. He stated that he did not want to switch tanks during the climb and chose to wait until level flight.
Engine Failure
During the departure climb, the engine quit. The pilot then changed fuel tanks and turned on the fuel boost pump in an attempt to restart the engine.
Postaccident Examination
Examination after the incident revealed that 1 quart of fuel was drained from the left tank and 8 gallons were drained from the right tank.
Handbook Guidance
According to the Beech Aircraft Pilot Operator Handbook, "In no case should a takeoff be made if the fuel indicators are in the yellow band or, with less than 13 gallons of fuel in each main tank." Each main fuel tank has an unusable amount of fuel of 3 gallons.