Fuel starvation on a Beech

[propofol65 0]

Saw in the news that a twin Beech made an emergency landing in a field outside of Lebanon, OH (Start Skydiving). A jumper there said everyone got out and no one injured.

Anyone know the minimum fuel capacity to fly a load on a twin Beech?

http://www.middletownjournal.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/10/26/46121266_-1.html

[jtnesbitt 0]

Wow....is it just me or is the photographer really hiding in the bushes?

"If this post needs to be moderated I would prefer it to be completly removed and not edited and butchered into a disney movie" - DorkZone Hero

[JohnRich 4]

Clickable web link:
http://www.middletownjournal.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/10/26/46121266_-1.html

Looks like a nice field for an emergency landing, and no damage to the aircraft.

The view from the bushes may have been because police were keeping everyone away.

[Skydive2 1]

I heard the jumpers all landed at the DZ after the emergency exit. Pretty bad piloting if the jumpers can make the DZ and the pilot can't :(

[jumpwally 0]

Any cause for this? mistake in checking for fuel? any trouble taking off from soft field ?

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[JohnMitchell 16]

Selecting the wrong tanks?

Whoever the pilot was, thanks for not killing anyone or bending the plane. Hope you fix whatever went wrong.

[bclark 0]

Ooooh! People are still skydiving out of Beech 18's in America. I am feeling all nostalgic.

[Beerlight 0]

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I heard the jumpers all landed at the DZ after the emergency exit. Pretty bad piloting if the jumpers can make the DZ and the pilot can't :(

Ah, don't be so quick to judge. Lots of variables to throw in regarding the landing.

[jumpwally 0]

Strange,,no more news on this ?

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[jtnesbitt 0]

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Strange,,no more news on this ?

What else would there be to report? I'm kind of surprised it was even news worthy to make it here in the first place.

"If this post needs to be moderated I would prefer it to be completly removed and not edited and butchered into a disney movie" - DorkZone Hero

[AndyMan 7]

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What else would there be to report? I'm kind of surprised it was even news worthy to make it here in the first place.

I'm not sure I understand your comment. It sounds like you don't think an airplane running out of fuel and ditching in a field isn't a big deal...?

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

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It sounds like you don't think an airplane running out of fuel and ditching in a field isn't a big deal...?

_Am

Its not a big deal. Nobody hurt, no damage to plane. No need to notify NTSB. I don't think FAA needs to know either(not sure on that). All they had to do was put on some fuel and they could probably take off right from there. It doesn't happen every day, but it does happen. One time, at the flight school I was working at, the student bumped the fuel selector, engine died right after takeoff, put it down in a cornfield. They taxied out to road and had sheriff deputies block traffic, took off from road. They were back at the airport before the news crew showed up. End of story.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[pilotdave 0]

What a progressive attitude. Surely this way of thinking is going to make flying in jump planes safer! Yep, planes just inexplicably run out of gas all the time. No biggie. Happens to Delta like every few months too.

Dave

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Perhaps I should have been more detailed, but I try to keep my posts short. The student incident happened 20+ years ago. I haven't personally seen another one since. Fuel starvation is not something to be taken lightly. It often ends in destruction of the plane and injury or death to the pilot and passengers. It is a totally preventable situation for which there is NO excuse. Also, it is amazing how often there is usable fuel in a tank that just wasn't selected. In this particular situation they got lucky and hopefully learned a lesson.
(edit to add) If they had gotten luckier and made it back to the runway, we probably never would have heard about it.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[paulbo 0]

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(edit to add) If they had gotten luckier and made it back to the runway, we probably never would have heard about it.

True, but as you know, many pilots have wrecked airplanes and killed themselves and others by trying to make the turn back to the runway.

And to the poster who said that it was bad piloting for the pilot to not make it back to the dz while the jumpers could; it is much easier to turn around a parachute than an airplane. Think of the turning radius, what speed does your canopy stall at compared to a Beech 18? Landing straight ahead after losing power at low altitude is commonly the smartest move. That said, I don't know what altitude the aircraft was at when they lost power.

Joe is right when saying that as far as reporting this, it isn't a big deal, since the aircraft was not damaged in the off-field landing, it doesn't qualify as an "accident" and losing power due to fuel starvation isn't one of the incidents that require notification to the NSTB as found in 49 CFR part 830.

Definitely something that the operator should (and i'm sure will be) looking into quite thoroughly.

Paul

"It's like a hamburger, with cheese on it"

[billvon 2,995]

I have deleted a bunch of posts about whether or not fuel starvation/off field landings are "incident-worthy" even if no one was hurt.

They are. One of the reasons that this forum exists is so that jumpers can read about different drop zones and the unique issues that each of them faces. Knowing about a DZ that has an ongoing issue with aircraft fueling is one of those issues. (Note that I am NOT saying that this is an ongoing issue in this case.)

An equivalent issue might be a tandem that lands safely off-field, but upon examination it is determined that the reserve was not connected to the risers. Yes, everyone landed safely, and yes, it might well be something that is corrected quickly by the DZO. But the considerations over what MIGHT have happened in that case would make it serious enough to be posted in this forum.

[propofol65 0]

Spot on moderator.

I wanted to know the fuel burn for doing a load on this Beech. And yes, it does make a difference if there is fuel starvation especially if the engine quits @ 2K or how about 3K with tandems on board? Makes one think about going over their E.P.s doesn't it?

In anesthesia, you "hope for the worst and you wont' be disappointed." i.e. don't become complacent.

Blue skies

[aykay 0]

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Fuel starvation on a Beech

Fuel starvation is a beech.

[erdnarob 1]

We can be happy everybody walked away from that incident and that the aircraft was saved but I agree that fuel starvation concerning an airplane is a major issue. The cause of the starvation has to be determined. The cause can come from an improper or not approved componant like a gas filter for instance, from a lack of maintenance, from gas contamination, or from the pilot miscalculation. Anyway consequences could have been worst if it would have happened at take off. The tasks for a pilot are numerous: loading the aircraft, flying the machine, navigate, communicate and last but not the least monitoring the gas consumption.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.