Fuel Exhaustion & Starvation · NTSB ERA14FA074
RAYTHEON G36 — Panama City, FL
| Date | December 18, 2013 |
| Location | Panama City, FL |
| Aircraft | RAYTHEON G36 |
| Purpose of flight | Business |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Emergency descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 52 |
| Pilot total time | 5,000 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | 53 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Equipment/furnishings-Emergency equipment-Not used/operated - F
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Pilot - F
What happened
The flight was about 60 miles from the destination airport when the pilot reported a total loss of engine power to air traffic control. The controller provided information on nearby airports, and the pilot maneuvered the airplane toward the closest airport. The pilot reported the airport in sight; radio and radar contact were subsequently lost. A search for the airplane was initiated, and the wreckage was located in a heavily wooded swamp about 1 mile east of the airport. There were no known witnesses to the accident. The fuel tank selector handle was found in the "left main" (left wing tank) position. The left wing tank was not breached, and about 1 pint of fuel was recovered from the tank. The right tank was breached, and it contained residual fuel; however, there was no evidence of fuel leakage on the ground beneath the tank. The airplane was fitted with optional wing tip tanks, which were found empty. The total amount of fuel recovered, including the residual fuel in the tanks and fuel recovered from a small pool of water directly under the airplane, was about 2.5 gallons, which was less than the manufacturer-reported unusable fuel quantity of 6 gallons. The airplane was last serviced with fuel about 28 days before to the accident; however, the total fuel onboard at that time could not be determined. The propeller blades exhibited no rotational damage or signatures. After the accident, the engine was removed from the airframe and successfully test run at the manufacturer's facilities; no evidence of pre-accident malfunction or failure was observed.
Although a shoulder harness was available, the pilot was found in the left seat with only his lap belt fastened. Damage to the airplane's multi-function display was consistent with impact by the pilot's head during the accident sequence. The pilot's cause of death was blunt force head trauma, and the impact forces that he experienced would likely have been reduced if he had been wearing his shoulder harness.