N323MTBeech 95-B55 (T42A)

On March 25, 2019, about 1210 eastern daylight time, a Beech 95B55, N323MT, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Clewiston, Florida. The pilot sustained minor injuries, one passenger was seriously injured, and a second passenger was uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot stated that he ordered 30 gallons (15 gallons per side) of fuel to be placed in the airplane's auxiliary fuel tanks the night before the accident. On the day of the accident, the pilot performed a preflight inspection of the airplane before starting the engines and taxiing to the active runway, but he did not visually verify that there was fuel in the tanks. The pilot took off with the fuel selector positioned to the main fuel tanks and climbed to 6,000 ft mean sea level (msl) for the estimated 1 hour and 10-minute flight. Shortly after leveling off, the left engine lost total power. He tried to restart the engine, but was unsuccessful, and he contacted air traffic control to request vectors to the nearest airport.

Within 5 minutes of the left engine losing power, the right engine lost power. He tried restarting the right engine multiple times while feathering and securing the left engine. The pilot stated he could see the airport ahead, but did not feel he had enough altitude to glide to the runway and selected a field for a forced landing. During landing, the airplane impacted an irrigation ditch, substantially damaging the right wing and fuselage. Throughout the flight, the pilot did not attempt to move the fuel selectors from the main fuel tank position. In addition, he stated he did not use a checklist while performing the engine shutdown, since he was working to secure the engines.

A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane and found that both main fuel tanks were absent of fuel. Both auxiliary fuel tanks contained fuel; however, the specific quantity was not determined. In addition, both fuel selector valves were positioned to the main fuel tanks. A fuel receipt confirmed that the auxiliary tanks had each been serviced with 15 gallons of fuel on the day before the accident. The amount of fuel in the airplane’s main fuel tanks at the time of takeoff could not be determined.

An examination of both engines revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.