Cessna 310-R Fuel Exhaustion Accident in Murcia (EC-EAH)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On July 18, 2002, a Cessna 310-R with registration EC-EAH, operated for commercial aerial photography, crashed in an orange grove near the road connecting La Roda and San Javier, approximately 3 km from the Murcia/San Javier airport. The aircraft, equipped with two Continental TSIO-520-B9B engines, was destroyed in the accident. The flight departed Zaragoza airport at 11:20 local time with an estimated duration of 5 hours and 45 minutes, originally destined for Valencia with Murcia/San Javier and Cuatro Vientos as alternates. At 16:39, the pilot requested to extend the flight plan and change the destination to Murcia/San Javier, which was authorized. The pilot reported completing the photography work at 17:16 and was cleared for approach to runway 05 at 17:31. At approximately 17:40, the pilot declared an emergency, and no further communication was received. The aircraft was found to have made an emergency landing in the orange grove, striking several trees and a perimeter fence during the ground roll. The 29-year-old pilot, a commercial pilot with 1,348 flight hours, sustained serious injuries, while the photographer passenger suffered a minor traumatic brain injury. ## Investigation Findings and Probable Cause The investigation determined that both engines stopped due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot reported that the left engine stopped on the left base for runway 05, followed by the right engine a few seconds later. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the left fuel selector was set to the left main tank, while the right selector was in an intermediate position between off and the left main tank. The left main tank was found completely empty, with only a small, unquantified amount of fuel in the right main tank. Fuel lines and filters for both engines were nearly dry, with only trace amounts of fuel remaining. Tests on an identical aircraft showed that an engine stops 3 to 5 seconds after the fuel selector is turned off, depending on the tank configuration. The aircraft's maximum takeoff weight of 2,497 kg, combined with the empty weight of 1,945 kg and an estimated crew weight of 160 kg, limited the fuel load to approximately 392 kg (560 liters), despite a total capacity of 767 liters. The fuel quantity indication system, based on a float and potentiometer, was noted to have low precision. The investigation concluded that the pilot's desire to complete the photography work led to extending the flight beyond the estimated time and relying on unreliable fuel quantity indicators, contributing to the fuel exhaustion.