What happened
On Friday, April 28, 2000, at 17:48, a Cessna 336 Skymaster, registration F-BMLC, was conducting a positioning flight following engine changes. The flight was intended to be a local control flight. Prior to the incident, the pilot landed at Montpellier Candillargues to refuel, but was unable to do so due to a lack of appropriate payment methods.
Upon inspecting the four fuel tanks visually, the pilot observed that the two outer tanks were empty, while the two inner tanks contained enough fuel to reach Béziers, located approximately 65 km away. However, the pilot decided to depart for Montpellier Méditerranée, located only 9 km away, to seek refueling. During the base leg of the approach to Montpellier Méditerranée, at an altitude of approximately 500 feet, the engines lost power. The pilot subsequently performed a forced landing in a marshy area. During the landing roll, the nose gear collapsed, causing the aircraft to pitch forward and strike the ground with the left wing, resulting in a ground loop.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the engine power loss and the subsequent impact. Investigators examined the fuel management process and the pilot's actions regarding tank selection. The investigation established that the engines failed due to fuel exhaustion caused by an error in the fuel selector configuration.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was insufficient knowledge of the aircraft's fuel system, which led to a mistake in selecting the fuel tanks.
- The pilot had set the fuel selector to the "main tanks" position, under the mistaken belief that this setting would draw fuel from the inner tanks.
- The aircraft sustained significant damage, including damage to the propeller, the left wing tip, and the horizontal stabilizer, along with the collapse of the nose gear.