What happened
On March 19, 1994, an aircraft with registration N1576T was performing its final approach when it exhibited erratic flight patterns at a low altitude. Eyewitnesses traveling in a nearby vehicle observed the aircraft moving up and down toward the ground. These observers noted that the propellers appeared to be rotating slowly and reported hearing a faint clicking sound. The aircraft was observed performing a brief nosedive before impacting the ground. At the time of the impact, the aircraft was traveling at a low speed and was relatively level with the terrain.
Records indicate that the pilot had loaded 112 gallons of fuel into the N1576T on March 17, 1994. The flight departed at 10:30, and the accident occurred at 13:55, resulting in a total flight duration of 3 hours and 25 minutes. The pilot, who was the only person on board, was killed in the crash, resulting in 1 fatality.
Findings
Analysis of the aircraft's fuel consumption rates suggests that the onboard fuel supply was insufficient for the duration of the flight. Based on established consumption data for this specific aircraft type, the fuel supply was estimated to be depleted after approximately 3 hours and 4 minutes of operation. This indicates that fuel exhaustion likely occurred prior to the aircraft's final approach and subsequent crash.