Event CEN25LA176

Factual narrative

The twin-engine airplane departed for the international cross-country flight with 380 gallons of Jet A fuel onboard. No fuel stops were performed during the flight. During the approach to the destination airport, the pilot reported that the right engine instruments began to display a decrease in power, until a total loss of power occurred. Shortly after, the left engine sustained a total loss of power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a flat corn field, located about 19.5 miles southeast of the destination airport. The two controllable pitch propellers were not feathered, and the main landing gear was not extended prior to landing in the field. The airplane came to rest upright in the field. The three occupants were able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the left wing, and no evidence of a reported fire was noted with the right engine. During the recovery operation, the airframe fuel system was found intact and there were no visible signs of fuel leakage on the airframe. The airframe can contain up to 384 gallons of usable fuel. For the left side of the airplane, about 1 pint of fuel was recovered from the main fuel tank and about 9 gallons of fuel were recovered from the nacelle fuel tank. For the right side of the airplane, about 2 pints of fuel were recovered from the main fuel tank and no fuel was recovered from the nacelle fuel tank. The pilot did not provide any accident flight fuel planning calculation documents. The airplane was not equipped with a low fuel warning light system, nor was it required to be. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot
• — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Task monitoring/vigilance-Pilot
• — Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Knowledge-Knowledge of procedures-Pilot
• — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level