Event ERA19LA083

Factual narrative

On January 26, 2019, about 1540 eastern standard time, a Beech S35, N6136V, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Lexington, Kentucky. The airline transport pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. In a written statement and conversations with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot stated that air traffic control vectored the airplane for landing on runway 22 (972 ft elevation) and that his airplane was sequenced behind another airplane landing to the same runway. Preliminary radar information depicted the airplane at 2,300 feet mean sea level when it turned and aligned with the runway 6.3 miles from its approach end. The airplane's final radar target was depicted at 2,100 feet and 3.8 miles from the approach end of the runway. According to the pilot, the airplane was "high" on the approach, and he "slipped" the airplane and descended to his desired approach angle. About 1,000 feet above ground level, the pilot added power to maintain his approach angle, and the engine did not respond. The pilot stated that the remedial actions he performed to restore engine power were unsuccessful, and the airplane had insufficient altitude to glide to the runway. The pilot selected a horse farm directly beneath the airplane's flight path for the forced landing. During the landing roll, the airplane struck several fences which divided the property, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing, fuselage, and empennage. The airplane came to rest upright 1.4 miles from the approach end of runway 22. According to FAA airworthiness records, the airplane was manufactured in 1965 and had accrued 6,181 total aircraft hours. It was equipped with a Continental IO-550B, 300-horsepower engine that drove a controllable-pitch propeller. The airplane was equipped with a 40-gallon main fuel tank in each wing, and a 15-gallon auxiliary fuel tank mounted on each wing tip. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed control continuity from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces. The left main fuel tank was compromised and leaked fuel. The auxiliary tip tanks were destroyed by impact and contained no fuel. During the initial exam and the subsequent recovery of the airplane from the accident site, the inspector supervised the defueling of the airplane, which captured 16 gallons of fuel from the right main fuel tank, and about 15 gallons from the left main fuel tank. The auxiliary fuel transfer pump switches were found in the "ON" position. After recovery, an engine run was attempted at the recovery facility. The work performed to accomplish the engine run included: removal of the damaged propeller for a donor propeller, plumbing of an external fuel supply due to the voided fuel tanks, removal of the airplane's dead battery for a donor battery, and then hoisting and securing the airplane for the run. The engine started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption. A magneto check was performed satisfactorily. The engine was not accelerated beyond 1,200 rpm due to impact damage and excessive vibration. A placard mounted on the instrument panel cautioned: "Avoid prolonged slips (20 seconds or more) with fuel tanks less than half full." According to the pilot, the airplane was high on the approach and he performed a slip to descend the airplane to his desired approach angle. About 1,000 feet above ground level, the pilot added engine power to maintain his approach angle, and the engine did not respond. The pilot performed a forced landing to a horse farm, where fences dividing the pastures substantially damaged the airplane during landing. After the accident, about 15 gallons of fuel were recovered from the left main fuel tank and about 16 gallons were recovered from the right main fuel tank. Each tank had a total capacity of 40 gallons. A placard mounted on the instrument panel cautioned: "Avoid prolonged slips (20 seconds or more) with fuel tanks less than half full." Examination of the airplane and a postaccident engine run revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation. It is likely that the loss of engine power was the result of fuel starvation. 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).

• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C