Event LAX84LA461

1984-08-28 LIVERMORE, California, United States Airport · LVK Serious 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

N2876W Beech A36 Serious

Factual narrative

THE PLT VISUALLY CHECKED THE FUEL TANKS DURING HIS PRE-FLT & ESTIMATED 10-20 GALS OF FUEL REMAINING IN BOTH THE LEFT & RIGHT TANKS. HE SAID THAT THE START, TAXI & RUN-UP WERE PERFORMED WHILE USING THE RIGHT RANK. HE REPORTED THAT THE RIGHT FUEL GAGE READING SUDDENLY WENT TO ZERO, BUT HE SUSPECTED A FAULTY FUEL GAGE READING. NEVERTHELESS, HE SAID HE SELECTED THE LEFT TANK FOR TAKEOFF. AFTER TAKING OFF, THE ACFT WAS CLIMBING THRU ABOUT 200 FT AGL WHEN THE ENG LOST POWER. THE PLT SAID HE SWITCHED TO THE RIGHT TANK, BUT NOTHING HAPPENED, SO HE SWITCHED BACK TO THE LEFT TANK & LANDED GEAR DOWN IN AN ALFALFA FIELD. AN EXAM REVEALED THERE WAS 12 TO 15 GALLON REMAINING IN THE LEFT TANK. THE RIGHT TANK WAS FOUND EMPTY. NO PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1984_LAX84LA461.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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