Incident
While cruising at night on a regional flight from Charleston, both engines experienced a failure. The pilot reduced altitude in an attempt to execute an emergency landing. The aircraft subsequently struck a house in Salley, resulting in its destruction. The two occupants on board sustained serious injuries, while no injuries were reported on the ground.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined the probable cause to be engine failure during normal cruise due to improper in-flight decisions. Contributing factors included mismanagement of fuel, fuel exhaustion, the pilot's attempt to operate with known deficiencies in equipment, an erratic fuel quantity gauge, flameout of both engines, low ceiling, and visibility of one-quarter mile or less.