N134PBeech A36 · 1979

On August 20, 2019, at 1754 Pacific daylight time, Beech A36 airplane, N134P, was destroyed when it descended into the Pacific Ocean near Half Moon Bay, California. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight.

On the morning of the accident, the pilot performed a preflight inspection, during which he obtained fuel samples from the left and right fuel tanks. He stated that he had to drain fuel from each tank four to five times before the samples were free of “flakey black sediment.” He thought that this was more debris than usual but was not alarmed after he was able to obtain clean fuel samples.

The pilot departed, picked up a passenger at Reid-Hillview Airport (RHV), San Jose, California, and continued to Monterey Regional Airport, Monterey, California, where he landed about 1200. After picking up the passenger, the pilot observed the fuel flow gauge showing an unstable flow oscillating and decreasing from 16 to 11 gallons per hour (gph). He switched the fuel boost pump to “LO,” which appeared to alleviate the problem. The pilot departed Monterey about 1550 and landed at 1600 on the turf runway at Monterey Bay Academy Airport, Watsonville, California. He subsequently departed about 1630 and landed at RHV to drop off one of his passengers. That passenger, who was also a pilot, was planning to fly a Cessna 182 in tandem with the accident airplane for the purpose of taking pictures of one another.

A review of Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control (ATC) transcripts revealed that the accident airplane departed RHV about 1722 as a flight of two with the Cessna. At 1742, the pilot of the Cessna advised the controller that the airplanes were planning to descend below 1,000 feet mean sea level (msl) and may lose radio contact; controller advised that radar services were terminated and instructed the pilot to squawk VFR.

The accident pilot stated that he was making a descending left turn when, about 3,000 feet msl, the engine became quieter and stopped producing power. The JPI Engine Monitor Display 700 indicated the exhaust gas temperatures (EGTs) were declining to 0° and the fuel flow was 0 gph. He switched the boost pump to “LO” for several seconds, and then “HI,” and then switched it back off. He manipulated the throttle, propeller, and mixture controls full forward, and about 500 feet agl, he positioned the fuel selector from the left to the right tank. The engine produced power momentarily before again losing total power. He stated that the propeller was windmilling and that there were no unusual vibrations, sounds, or odors.

The pilot further stated that he communicated with the pilot of the Cessna about the engine failure, and he chose to ditch with the landing gear and flaps retracted. He configured the airplane into a level attitude about 10 feet above the water and waited for it to settle into the water. Immediately after impact, he and the passenger egressed with several items they wanted to salvage from the cockpit and stood on the wing until the airplane sank (an estimated 40 to 50 seconds).

Just before the engine anomaly, the passenger took two cell phone videos, both of which were posted to social media. The last video was started at 1735:26, at a location 3 nautical miles north of the accident site, and captured 16 seconds of footage, showing the pilot making the left turn just before the engine lost power.

A review of the video revealed that the JPI Fuel Scan 450 instrument showed 18.6 gph fuel flow rate; the left-wing fuel tank was about 3/8 full; the right-wing tank was 1/2 full; and the engine manifold pressure was 24 inches.

The pilot of the Cessna contacted ATC at 1753 and advised the controller that the accident airplane was ditching into the water. Coast Guard rescue helicopters arrived about 1830. The depth of the water was about 145 feet, and the airplane wreckage was not recovered.

The pilot stated that he purchased the airplane, serial number (s/n) E-1527, in June 2019. The airplane was equipped with a Continental Motors IO550-B, s/n 684026. The airplane had recently undergone maintenance, including the installation of 20-gallon D’Shannon wingtip fuel tanks on July 18, 2019.