NTSB Identification: ERA12FA074
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, November 17, 2011 in Ulysses, PA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/07/2012
Aircraft: BEECH 95-C55, registration: N54552
Injuries: 4 Serious.
NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The airplane departed on a cross-country flight with an unknown quantity of fuel. Although the pilot had asked for the main tanks to be filled, it is likely that the fueler did not add enough fuel. According to the pilot, the left main fuel gauge read inaccurately, but the pilot did not check the fuel level during his preflight inspection. Given the flight times since the airplane’s last complete fuel service, its subsequent partial fuel service, and the fuel consumption rates provided by the airplane’s owner, it is likely that the fuel supply in the left main tank was nearly exhausted during the climb after takeoff from the departure airport on the accident flight. The airplane completed the cruise portion of the flight on the auxiliary tanks, and when the fuel selectors were placed back in the main positions, the left engine stopped producing power due to fuel starvation. According to the pilot’s operating manual, the left fuel selector should have been in the main or auxiliary position, and the right fuel selector should have been in the crossfeed position. However, during the left-engine restart attempt, the pilot configured the left fuel selector to crossfeed position and the right fuel selector to the auxiliary position; such a configuration starved the right engine of fuel. When the right engine “surged,” the pilot abandoned the restart and feathered the left propeller. Restart of the right engine was also unsuccessful, and the pilot completed a power-off forced landing. The airplane’s emergency procedures and fuel system schematics revealed that, had the left engine been feathered and the fuel system configured properly by the published procedure, the right engine would have continued to operate on the fuel that remained in the right main fuel tank.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The total loss of left engine power due to fuel starvation, and the pilot’s improper configuration of the fuel system during remedial actions, which resulted in fuel starvation of the right engine. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s incomplete preflight inspection and the pilot’s operation of the airplane with a known faulty fuel quantity indicating system.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On November 17, 2011, about 1619 eastern standard time, a twin-engine Hawker Beechcraft Corporation Model 95-C55 Baron, N54552, impacted a garage during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power near Ulysses, Pennsylvania. The airplane was substantially damaged during the impact sequence and consumed by a post-crash fire. The certificated airline transport pilot and three passengers were seriously injured. The airplane was registered to a corporation and operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from New Castle Airport (ILG), Wilmington, Delaware, around 1500, with the intended destination of Buffalo Airfield (9G0), Buffalo, New York.
According to the pilot, the airplane departed ILG after being serviced with 23 gallons of fuel. The airplane was in cruise flight at 8,000 feet mean sea level (msl), when, due to turbulence and rime icing, the pilot requested a descent to 6,000 feet msl. The pilot then switched the fuel selector positions from the auxiliary fuel tank to the main tank on both the left and right selectors because the auxiliary tanks were "empty." Soon after, the left engine began to surge. The pilot switched the fuel selectors back to the auxiliary tanks, and as he attempted to restore the left engine to full power, the right engine surged. As the pilot performed remedial actions to restore power to the right engine, the left engine stopped producing power, and he feathered the left propeller. The right engine experienced a total loss of power seconds after. The pilot then abandoned engine restart attempts to concentrate on control of the airplane.
The airplane descended through clouds over mountainous terrain, and descended beneath the clouds to an altitude of only a few hundred feet above the ground. The pilot's first two choices for the forced landing were unavailable, so he "stalled the airplane into the garage" to lessen the impact forces.
The airplane collided with and came to rest inside a 50-foot by 75-foot garage and attached workroom. A significant post crash fire ensued, but the occupants were able to egress the airplane and the garage without assistance.
PILOT INFORMATION
According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine, multiengine, and rotorcraft helicopter. He also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single engine and instrument airplane and helicopter. The pilot reported 12,200 total hours of flight experience, of which 1,100 were in the accident airplane make and model. His most recent first class FAA medical certificate was issued February 9, 2011.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1965, and was registered to a corporation in February 1994. It was a six-place, low wing, multi-engine airplane, with retractable landing gear. According to the airplane’s maintenance records, the most recent annual inspection was completed on September 5, 2011, at 6,027 total aircraft hours.
The airplane had a 142-gallon fuel capacity, of which 136 gallons was usable. The inboard (main) fuel tanks contained 40 gallons when full, and the auxiliary (outboard) tanks contained 31 gallons when full.
According to the pilot, he performed a preflight inspection at 9G0 on the morning of the accident. At that time the auxiliary fuel tanks were full, and the main fuel tanks were "a little more than half" full. The owner of the airplane stated that on the flight prior to the day of the accident, the airplane had flown approximately 1.3 hours after it was filled with fuel, and that the flight was completed with only the main fuel tanks selected.
The airplane then departed 9G0 and flew 1.3 hours to ILG. After landing, the pilot instructed the fixed base operator to "top off the mains." but In a written statement, the FBO manager said his line service technician consulted a more experienced technician before fueling the airplane to ensure that he "was filling the correct tank" and had also checked the outboard [aux] fuel tanks and "noted they were full." In an interview with an FAA inspector after the accident, the technician stated that he had topped the main tanks with approximately 12 gallons of fuel in each main tank, and that he did not check the fuel level in the outboard fuel tanks because his instructions were to top off the main tanks only. Examination of fuel receipts revealed that the airplane was serviced with 23.2 gallons of fuel.
Prior to the return flight to 9G0, the pilot ensured that the right main tank was full, but was distracted by aircraft loading that was in progress, and did not visually confirm the fuel level of left main tank. He further stated that the fuel gauge for the left tank was "problematic," and "doesn't read accurately," and that they typically checked the tanks visually for that very reason. The pilot added, "In retrospect I don't think it was topped off because they only gave me 28 gallons of fuel…I should have questioned the line guy why he only put 28 gallons in the plane but I was distracted by [passengers] and it took me off my task."
The owner of the airplane stated that the airplane's average fuel consumption rate was 30 gallons per hour.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
At 1633, the weather conditions reported at Wellsville Municipal Airport (ELZ), about 18 miles northwest of the accident site, included winds from 290 at 9 knots gusting to 15 knots. There was a broken cloud ceiling at 2,300 feet, and the visibility was 2 miles in light snow. The temperature was -1 degrees C, dew point -4 degrees C, and the altimeter setting was 29.91 inches of mercury.
WRECKAGE INFORMATION
The wreckage was examined at the site, and all major components of the airplane were accounted for at the scene. The garage contained four cars as well as several machines, tools, thinners, and other solvents. The fire was fueled by aviation fuel, gasoline, and a coal pile located behind the structure. After the fire, only an outline of the garage structure remained and few identifiable pieces of the airplane were discovered in the debris.
The airplane components identified were the outboard sections of the left and right wings, the left and right engines, left and right landing gear supports, four seat frames, main landing gear supports, and throttle quadrant cabling. The fuel selector valves were located and separated from the wreckage and retained for detailed examination.
TESTS AND RESEARCH
The left and right fuel selector valves were examined in Clayton, Delaware on November 29, 2011. The selector valves were separated from the airframe by post-crash fire, and both were extensively fire-damaged.
Each fuel selector controlled a four-position valve. The positions were Main, Auxiliary, Crossfeed, and Off, respectively.
Comparison of the valves to technical diagrams provided by the manufacturer revealed which was the right selector valve, and which was the left.
Examination of the orientation of the roll pin mounted on the selector handle assembly revealed that the left fuel selector valve was in the "crossfeed" position.
Examination of the orientation of the roll pin mounted on the selector handle assembly revealed that the right fuel selector valve was in the "aux" position.
According to the manufacturer's Pilot's Operating Manual, the procedure for left engine inoperative on crossfeed was:
1. Right Aux Fuel Pump – ON (LOW)
2. Left Fuel Selector Valve – MAIN OR AUXILIARY
3. Right Fuel Selector Valve – CROSSFEED
4. Right Aux Fuel Pump – LOW or OFF as required.
According to a Hawker Beechcraft maintenance manual fuel system schematic, the fuel selectors as found were in a configuration that would feed fuel to the left engine from the right auxiliary fuel tank.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
According to the Pilot’s Operating Manual, the emergency procedure for ENGINE FAILURE AFTER LIFTOFF AND IN FLIGHT, after positive control of the airplane is established:
6. Secure inoperative engine
a. Mixture Control – IDLE CUT-OFF
b. Fuel Selector – OFF
c. Auxiliary Fuel Pump – OFF
d. Magneto/Start Switch – OFF
e. Alternator Switch – OFF
f. Cowl Flap – CLOSED
Examination of the fuel system schematic revealed that in this configuration, the fuel system on the side of the operative engine provided fuel to that engine.
COUDERSPORT, Pa.—A
Lancaster man was identified as the pilot of the twin-engine airplane
that crashed into a barn northeast of Coudersport shortly after 4 p.m.
Thursday.
Thomas P. Anticola, 62,
of Lancaster piloted the aircraft that crashed into the barn on Johnson
Road in Harrison Township, Potter County, authoritieds said. Anticola
and three passengers—Keith Zittel, 51, of Niagara Falls; David Kennedy,
47, of Hamburg; and Paul Seegar, 44, of North Tonawanda—managed to get
out of the plane and the barn before it was engulfed in flames.
Several custom cars housed in the garage were completely destroyed in the crash, including a 1934 Chevy Coupe, a 1946 Chevy truck, and a 1979 Chevy Corvette.
Harrison, Pa. — A plane crash that took place in Harrison Township, Pa. at about 4:20 p.m. today, about 20 minutes south of Wellsville.
The plane crashed into the second story of a two-story garage at 300 Johnson Road, owned by the VanPelt family. Shirley VanPelt was home at the time of the crash. The garage is just behind the home, and VanPelt looked out her window to see one of the wings sticking out of her garage. The nose of the plane was upstairs.
The four in the plane climbed out to safety. The garage and plane were on fire and the garage was falling in. One of the wings was behind the house.
Coudersport, Pa.-based state police reported three of the four, including the pilot, suffered moderate injuries and were taken to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital for treatment. The fourth was life-flighted from the scene for treatment of serious injuries. Troopers did not identify the occupants of the plane and did not say where the fourth person was taken.
The plane, owned by a firm in Orchard Park, was in Delaware flying to Buffalo. The flight plan shows the diversion just south of Wellsville when it crashed.
Marlin Cady was at his vehicle repair garage on state Route 49 when he saw the plane right before it hit the Van Pelt garage.
“I was outside working on a truck. I heard the plane, I heard the engines. At about that time the plane came out the other side of the trees,” Cady, 58, said. “I kept thinking, ‘Boy, he’d better pull up.
“The building was in flames,” Cady said. “Amazingly enough, four poeple walked away from that. I thought, ‘There’s no way anybody will get out of there’ and yet, they did. It’s a miracle.”
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Harrison Township, Pa. - Pennsylvania state police in Coudersport say all of the passengers in a Tioga County plane crash are alive. The plane was traveling from Delaware to Buffalo.
The plane, carrying a pilot and three passengers, crashed into a barn in Harrison Township, off Route 49. According to one source at the scene at least one of the passengers got out from the wreckage under their own power.
State police say three passengers were taken by ambulance to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital and one had to be air-lifted.
The owners of the barn are Jim and Shirley VanPelt. They say the barn was mainly used to store classic cars. Jim wasn't home when the plane crashed but Shirley says she was and can't believe what she heard.
Shirley said, “It’s a sound I'm not going to forget. It was like, not like a crack of thunder, it was like an explosion of tin. It’s like they went through a tin rough.”
Jim said, “A ‘34 Chevy. ‘38 Chevy pick-up and a ‘78 corvette. I also lost three welders and an air compressor, snow mobile and a four wheeler. We lost everything.”
Nothing is left from the plane besides a wing. The Vanpelts say they think the pilot was trying to land the plane in fields next to their barn.
MILLS, HARRISON TOWNSHIP, PA – A small twin engine private airplane carrying four passengers crashed into an unoccupied garage in Mills, PA at 4:16 p.m. this afternoon.
State Police in Coudersport say all four occupants were able to extricate themselves from the wreckage before the garage they crashed into ignited, becoming fully engulfed in flames.
Family members told CoudyNews the airplane crashed directly into the garage, narrowly escaping power lines. Witnesses say passengers in the aircraft exited through the rear door of the garage, before the fire ignited.
Witnesses said it was a “miracle” they survived the crash.
Three of the occupants, including the pilot, were transported to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital for treatment of moderate injuries. The fourth occupant was flown by medical helicopter from the scene for treatment of serious injuries.
Several custom cars housed in the garage were completely destroyed in the crash, including a 1934 Chevy Coupe, a 1946 Chevy truck, and a 1979 Chevy Corvette.
Officials say the crew was flying from Buffalo, NY to Delaware, although others have said the plane was flying from Delaware to Buffalo. We are working on clarifying this information.
Update: Route 49 is shutdown in both directions. Reports indicate roadways are extremely slippery.
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Update: 5:36 pm: Westfield Fire Department with a HAZMAT trailer has been dispatched to the scene. Fire personnel from Clymer have been dispatched to standby in Galeton.
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Update: Location of crash is Mills, PA, Harrison Township. One patient to be transferred via medical helicopter to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport. Another patient will be taken by ambulance to Jones Memorial in Wellsville. No information on the remaining passengers at this time.
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Update 4:55 pm: MercyFlight is available to fly and has been dispatched to Northern Potter High School.
An engine from Galeton has been dispatched to standby in Harrison Valley.
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Update: A twin engine airplane has crashed into a garage at 300 Johnson Road in Mills, PA. The garage is reported to be engulfed in flames.
Initial reports indicate 5 passengers aboard a twin engine plane. Four of those passengers have suffered severe chest trauma, with one reported to have less severe, but critical injuries.
Additional personnel have been dispatched to the scene, including Medic 700 and Medic 1.
Medical helicopters are grounded due to the weather.
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We have received reports that some type of aircraft has crashed into a structure in Harrison Valley.
We are working to gather more information and have reporters heading to the scene.
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, P.A. - A twin engine airplane has crashed into a garage in northern Pennsylvania. The garage on Johnson Road in Harrison Township is reported to be engulfed in flames.
There were 5 passengers aboard the twin engine plane. Four of those passengers have suffered severe chest trauma, with one reported to have less severe, but critical injuries.
Additional personnel have been dispatched to the scene. One patient was flown to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport, and another was taken to Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville via ambulance. There is no information on the remaining passengers at this time.
Tioga County, PA - A small airplane has crashed into a garage in Harrison Township, just over the Tioga County border.
According to Pennsylvania State Police in Coudersport, around 4:30 pm Thursday, a plane crashed into a garage at 300 Johnson Street.
