1 Jul 2022: BEECH H35

1 Jul 2022: BEECH H35 (N5546D) — Unknown operator

No fatalities • LaCrosse, WA, United States

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to monitor and manage the fuel supply, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On July 1, 2022, about 1340 Pacific daylight time, a Beechcraft H35 Bonanza, N5546D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Lacrosse, Washington. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that he departed from Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO), Arlington, WA, after an extended preflight and ground run, with an intended destination of Port of Whitman Business Air Center Airport (S94), Colfax, WA. The pilot reported the airplane contained 50 gallons of fuel on departure. After about 1.5 hours, while the pilot performed his pre-landing checklist for his approach, the engine lost all power. The pilot described that the engine power loss sounded as if the engine went to idle. He then switched the fuel selector from the right to left fuel tank, applied full throttle, and increased the mixture to full rich, but the engine did not respond. Shortly after, the pilot initiated a forced landing onto a wheat field. The engine separated from the firewall and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount and truss during the landing. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical anomalies. Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit to all flight surfaces. The fuel system was traced from each wing tank to the fuel selector, which rotated normally and was unobstructed. The right main, left main, right auxiliary, and left auxiliary tanks were not breached and had about 2 gallons, 4 gallons, 8 gallons, and 2.5 gallons, respectively. According to the manufacturer, the unusable fuel of each 20-gallon main tank is 3 gallons and there is a total of 1 gallon of unusable fuel in both auxiliary tanks combined. Mechanical continuity was established throughout the rotating group, valvetrain, and accessory section as the crankshaft was manually rotated at the propeller by hand. Thumb compression was achieved at all six cylinders and the valves displayed normal lift when the crankshaft was rotated. Examination of the cylinders’ combustion chamber using a lighted borescope revealed normal piston face and valve signatures, and no indications of catastrophic engine failure.

Contributing factors

  • Fluid management
  • Pilot
  • Pilot
  • Effect on equipment

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 350/06kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.