Incident Overview
On 4 August 2017, at approximately 17:39 local time, a Cessna 337G, registration EC-GPQ, operated by Sociedad Aeronáutica Peninsular, experienced an incident while on a firefighting coordination mission. The aircraft had been positioned at Valladolid Airport and was activated due to a fire in Verín, Ourense. The flight was conducted under visual flight rules (VFR) with four occupants on board: one pilot and three crew members. All were uninjured.
Flight and Engine Failure
Earlier that day, a mechanic performed the routine pre-service check. The pilot planned the flight and conducted a pre-flight inspection. The aircraft departed for the fire location. After spending time over the fire, the crew decided to return to base at Valladolid to avoid exceeding the pilot's duty time. During the return cruise, the rear engine stopped due to fuel exhaustion from the right fuel tank. The pilot was unable to restart the engine and feathered the propeller, continuing flight on the remaining engine.
Emergency Landing
Observing a progressive loss of altitude while flying on one engine, the pilot decided to perform an emergency landing. He selected a favorable terrain in the municipality of Belver de los Montes, Zamora. The landing was successful, with no injuries to the occupants and no significant damage to the aircraft or property.
Investigation and Cause
The investigation by the Spanish Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC) concluded that the cause of the incident was the emergency landing off-airfield following an engine shutdown due to fuel shortage. Contributing factors included deficiencies in flight planning, pre-flight inspection, and fuel management during the flight. As a result, the operator implemented improvements to its standard operating procedures regarding fuel management.