What happened
On June 27, 2007, a Pilatus Britten Norman Islander BN2A-26, registration N133RS, was conducting a scheduled flight from Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau to Little Whale Cay, Berry Island, before returning to Nassau. During the return leg, the pilot reported a failure of the left engine while on short final approach.
Unable to reach runway 14, the aircraft descended into an open field approximately half a mile northwest of the runway. The aircraft traversed beneath high-voltage power cables before coming to rest. The impact caused substantial damage to the aircraft, including the separation of the nose landing gear strut and damage to the empennature, though the fuselage and engines remained largely intact. The pilot, the sole occupant, sustained no fatal or serious injuries.
The investigation
The Bahamas Department of Civil Aviation investigation focused on the aircraft's fuel systems and the pilot's actions leading up to the engine failure. Investigators examined the fuel quantities remaining in the tanks post-accident, finding approximately 1 US gallon in the left tank and 13 US gallons in the right tank.
Technical analysis of the fuel gauges revealed that the pilot had been relying on a left fuel quantity indicator that he knew to be inaccurate. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's maintenance reporting habits, noting that known discrepancies in the instrumentation had not been documented in the technical log or reported to management.