Accident Overview
On January 4, 2016, about 1715 Pacific standard time, a Beech 35-C33, registration N20XY, landed short of runway 17L at Henderson Executive Airport, Henderson, Nevada, after a partial loss of engine power on final approach. The private pilot and a certified flight instructor (CFI) were not injured. Both wings sustained substantial damage. The flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed; an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Placerville Airport, Placerville, California, at 1405.
Flight Details
The flight instructor reported that the owner, a private pilot, had recently purchased the airplane and was flying it to Kentucky. The flight served as cross-country instruction to familiarize the owner with the aircraft. The flight plan was filed to Santa Fe, New Mexico, but the flight diverted to Henderson Executive Airport because the owner was uncomfortable flying at night.
Events Leading to the Accident
The flight instructor entered the downwind leg for runway 17L and performed the GUMPS checklist (gas, undercarriage, mixture, propeller, seat belt, switches). He rotated the fuel selector to the right tank, which contained more fuel. On final approach, he sensed something was wrong and recognized that the engine was not developing power. The propeller continued to spin, and no backfire or unusual noise occurred. He checked propeller and mixture settings, manipulated the fuel selector, and adjusted the throttle but lacked sufficient altitude to restart the engine. The airplane touched down short of the runway; the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest nose down.
Aircraft and Maintenance History
The six-seat, low-wing, retractable-gear airplane (serial number CD-1083) was powered by a Continental Motors IO-470-K11B engine rated at 225 horsepower, equipped with a McCauley two-bladed variable-pitch propeller (model 2A37C223-BC). The most recent annual inspection was performed on March 15, 2015, at engine time 581 hours and airframe/tachometer time 2,913.28 hours. Prior to departure, both fuel tanks were topped off. The aircraft also had an auxiliary fuel system providing up to 6 hours of endurance.
Post-Accident Fuel Examination
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the fuel system and found approximately 12 gallons drained from the left tank. The right tank was full.
Engine and Component Examination
The engine was examined on January 25, 2016, at Air Transport in Phoenix, Arizona, by representatives from Continental Motors and the National Transportation Safety Board. The engine remained attached to the airframe with intact mounts. The propeller was attached; one blade tip was bent aft, twisted to a lower pitch, with leading edge gouges; the other blade had spanwise gouges near the tip and paint burnishing at a 45-degree angle. Throttle and mixture controls moved correspondingly with cockpit controls. Magnetos and ignition harness were secure. All sparkplugs displayed dark black soot and had new-to-normal wear. Manual rotation produced spark on each plug in firing order. Cylinders were borescoped with no anomalies; thumb compression tests were normal for all six cylinders. Camshaft continuity was confirmed.
The engine was test-run on the airframe using its fuel system. It ran smoothly only at idle after leaning the mixture; applying throttle required richening the mixture to achieve full power. No anomalies were noted in engine core components or ignition, although the sparkplugs had soot before the test.
Fuel System Component Testing
The engine-driven fuel pump, throttle body/fuel metering unit, and fuel manifold valve were removed and examined on March 15, 2016, at Continental Motors in Mobile, Alabama. The fuel pump drive coupling and gear were undamaged; the pump operated normally on a production test bench. The fuel metering assembly had impact damage to its heat shielding but passed a production test bench test, flowing fluid at all throttle angles without adjustments. The fuel manifold valve and all its nozzles operated normally on the test bench, flowing fluid as expected. During testing, certain observed flow and pressure values fell outside the specification ranges, but no anomalies were found that would have prevented normal operation on the engine.
Probable Cause
The source did not provide a probable cause.