What happened
During a second approach to runway 30R, a twin engine turbofan powered airplane experienced a total loss of power in both engines, resulting in the aircraft ditching into a river. The flight had previously been instructed by air traffic control to climb during its initial approach to maintain separation from another aircraft. Following this instruction, the crew was provided with vectors for a subsequent approach. While the crew inquired about the extent of the vectors, they failed to notify air traffic control of their low fuel status until the aircraft was performing a base turn to join the final approach.
During the investigation, the crew reported no mechanical issues with the aircraft. The second-in-command indicated that the engines stopped producing power because the aircraft ran out of fuel, noting that fuel quantity indicators showed zero and 100 pounds remaining at the time of the failure. Although the second-in-command had suggested diverting to an airport approximately 14 nautical miles away, the pilot-in-command chose to proceed with the second approach to the original destination.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the flight crew had not obtained a weather briefing before the flight. At the time the flight plan was filed, the Terminal Aerodrome Forecast indicated an overcast ceiling of 1,500 feet. Because this ceiling was below 2,000 feet, regulations required an alternate airport to be listed in the flight plan, which the crew failed to do. Furthermore, the crew did not maintain the required fuel reserves for flight to the destination and an alternate, plus an additional 45 minutes of flight time. The primary cause of the accident was the exhaustion of fuel reserves during the approach.