What happened
While approaching runway 24, the pilot communicated via unicom that the aircraft was on final approach. During this phase of flight, the aircraft experienced a loss of power resulting from double fuel starvation. The aircraft type impacted trees and terrain approximately 2.6 miles from the runway in a nose-low attitude. The flight, which had a total duration of 4 hours and 32 minutes, had previously traveled from Burlington to Teterboro and was attempting to return to Burlington. The aircraft, registration N110LT, had been fueled the previous day at Albemarle, North Carolina, a location chosen by the pilot due to lower fuel costs.
Post-accident analysis determined that the total fuel consumption for the flight was approximately 361 gallons, while the usable fuel capacity was 384 gallons. Investigators recovered 24 gallons from the right center tank. The incident resulted in two fatalities.
Findings
Investigation of the mechanical components, including the engines, propellers, and fuel pumps, showed no significant discrepancies. However, it was determined that the fuel transfer pump was left in the off position. If this specific pump is not operational, 28 gallons of fuel become unusable, which contributed to the starvation of the engines during the approach.