NTSB NYC91LA064 — 1991-01-24 · BATAVIA, New York, United States

N73JP has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (GAME COMPOSITES LLC GB1 GAMEBIRD, built 2023), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N73JP Beech 58 Fatal

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO ENSURE AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF FUEL WAS ON BOARD FOR THE PLANNED FLIGHT WHICH RESULTED IN A DOUBLE POWER LOSS DUE TO THE FUEL EXHAUSTION.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT CONTACTED APPROACH CONTROL EN ROUTE TO HIS DESTINATION, INDICATING HE WAS LOW ON FUEL AND LOST POWER ON ONE ENGINE. RADAR AND RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WERE LOST AND THE AIRPLANE WAS FOUND SEVERAL HOURS LATER WITH THE PILOT FATALLY INJURED. POST CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THE FUEL TANKS INTACT, THE FUEL CAPS IN PLACE, NO FUEL IN THE TANKS, AND NO EVIDENCE OF LEAKAGE. THE SPARKS PLUGS LOOK GREY IN APPEARANCE. THE PILOT FLEW THIS SAME TRIP SEVERAL NIGHTS A WEEK AND HAD FLOWN THE SAME AIRPLANE AND TRIP THE NIGHT BEFORE. THE LOAD MANIFEST FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE INDICATED 500 LBS (83.3 GALLONS) OF FUEL ON BOARD AT DEPARTURE. THE TRIP TOOK 1.6 HOURS ON THE HOBBS METER. THERE WAS NO RECORD OF A REFUELING PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. AFTER THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT, THE HOBBS METER INDICATED AN ADDITIONAL 1.6 HOURS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_NYC91LA064.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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