Event WPR11FA192

Factual narrative

On April 9, 2011, about 1324 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 35-B33, N460SR, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power while on approach to landing at the Camarillo Airport (CMA), Camarillo, California. The airplane was registered to Serrano Ministries, Corona, California, and operated by the student pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The student pilot, certified flight instructor (CFI), and one of the two passengers sustained minor injuries. One passenger sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight. The cross-country flight originated from Chino, California, at 1230, with an intended destination of CMA. The CFI reported in a written statement to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) that following an uneventful flight, the flight descended and the student pilot configured the airplane for landing with full flaps and the landing gear extended. As the airplane descended to an altitude of about 2,500 feet mean sea level (msl), the student pilot attempted to level off by adding power but noticed no response from the airplane and that the engine had lost power. The CFI took control of the airplane and began troubleshooting the loss of engine power. Despite attempts to restart the engine, the CFI was unsuccessful and initiated a forced landing to a nearby field, which was precluded by gusty winds and a high descent rate. The CFI stated that he conducted a "controlled landing" on a flat roof of a storage facility about 1.23 miles east of runway 26, where a post crash fire ensued approximately 5 minutes later. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC, the CFI reported that prior to the flight he observed three-quarters tank of fuel was in both the left and right main fuel tanks and that the wingtip tanks were both full. The CFI added that during the flight, the student pilot did switch fuel tanks, but could not recall how many times or which tank was selected. Examination of the accident site by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that most of the airframe and two storage units were consumed by fire. All major structural components of the airplane were present at the accident site. The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination. Examination of the recovered IO-470-K (3) fuel injected engine, serial number 86342, revealed that it exhibited severe thermal and fire damage. All cylinders remained attached to the engine crankcase and all engine accessories remained attached to their respective mounts. The engine driven fuel pump was removed from the engine along with the top spark plugs, magnetos, vacuum pump, and rocker box covers. The engine crankshaft was manually rotated using a hand tool attached to an accessory drive mount pad. Rotational continuity was established throughout the engine and valve train. Thumb compression and suction was obtained on all six cylinders. The propeller assembly remained attached to the crankshaft propeller flange and had impact damage. The blades were bent and had leading edge gouging and chord-wise scratches. No mechanical anomalies were noted during the examination of the recovered engine that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the recovered airframe revealed that the fuselage and inboard portion of the right wing and entire left wing were fire damaged. A majority of the fuel lines for all four fuel tanks were consumed. In addition, all four fuel tanks appeared to be compromised. The fuel selector valve was found in the left main fuel tank position. No mechanical anomalies were noted during the examination of the recovered airframe that would have precluded normal operation. The certified flight instructor (CFI) reported that, following an uneventful flight, the student pilot configured the airplane for landing with full flaps and the landing gear extended. When the student pilot attempted to stop the descent and level off by adding power, he noticed that the engine had lost power. The CFI took control of the airplane and began troubleshooting. The CFI’s attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful, and he initiated a forced landing to a nearby field. However, due to the gusting wind that induced a high descent rate, the airplane landed short of the field on the flat roof of a storage facility, and a postcrash fire ensued. During postaccident interviews, the CFI reported that, during the flight, the student pilot switched fuel tanks multiple times, but he could not recall how many times or which fuel tank was selected. Examination of the recovered airframe revealed that the fuselage, inboard portion of the right wing, and the entire left wing were fire damaged. All the fuel tanks were compromised during the impact sequence. Examination of the recovered fuel injected engine revealed no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The reason for the loss of engine power was undetermined. 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 Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C