ATL90LA092

1990-04-05 · BRUNSWICK, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SS1

Aircraft involved

N5180C Beech B35 None

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO PROPERLY MANAGE HIS FUEL SUPPLY BY SWITCHING TO A TANK WITH FUEL PRIOR TO THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. COLLISION WITH THE TREE(S) WAS A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT.

Factual narrative

ON THE RETURN FLT TO THE AIRPORT, THE PLT ESTABLISHED A DESCENT & THE ENG LOST POWER AT ABOUT 1000 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE PILOT STATED HE ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE ENGINE BY SWITCHING FUEL TANKS. HE WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE AND ESTABLISHED A GLIDE FOR A MARSH AREA, BUT THE ACFT STRUCK A TREE. THE PILOT EXITED THE INVERTED AIRCRAFT UNASSISTED. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE LEFT WING AND FUSELAGE TANK CONTAINED FUEL; HOWEVER, THE RIGHT WING TANK WAS EMPTY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_ATL90LA092.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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