HANKSVILLE, UT, USA
N550TH
BEECH 58P
WHILE IN CRUISING FLIGHT, THE PILOT NOTICED THAT THE GAUGES INDICATED A FUEL IMBALANCE. AS THE IMBALANCE INDICATION BECAME GREATER, THE PILOT BEGAN TO SEARCH FOR A SUITABLE NEARBY ALTERNATE. FINDING THE NEAREST ALTERNATE TO BE BELOW APPROACH MINIMUMS, AND BEING CONVINCED THAT THE IMBALANCE WAS ONLY AN INDICATION PROBLEM, HE ELECTED TO CONTINUE ON TO THE ORIGINAL DESTINATION. WHEN BOTH ENGINES QUIT, THE LEFT GAUGE WAS AT 0, AND THE RIGHT GAUGE WAS INDICATING NEAR FULL. DURING THE RESTART ATTEMPTS, THE PILOT FAILED TO SELECT EITHER ENGINE TO THE RIGHT FUEL TANK, WHICH WAS LATER FOUND TO CONTAIN FUEL. WHEN EXAMINED AT THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT, THE POSITION OF BOTH FUEL VALVES CORRECTLY MATCHED THE POSITION OF THE CORRESPONDING FUEL SELECTOR LEVER. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO MALFUNCTION, DAMAGE, OR DISCREPANCIES WITH EITHER VALVE.
AN IMPROPER FUEL SELECTOR VALVE POSITION, FUEL STARVATION, AND INADEQUATE REMEDIAL ACTION. FACTORS INCLUDE SOFT, ROUGH TERRAIN.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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