NTSB WPR21LA342 — 2021-09-13 · Palo Alto, California, United States

Current FAA registration · N162DF

Make / Model: BEECH 58P
Year of manufacture: 1982 · 39 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-520 SER (300 hp)
Seats / Engines: 6 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date: 19900730
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A0F96D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N162DF Beech 58 Serious

Probable cause & findings

The fuelers addition of the incorrect fuel to the fuel tanks which resulted in a total loss of engine power.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, shortly after takeoff, about 500 ft above the ground, both engines lost power. A forced landing was subsequently initiated to an open area. During the landing, the left wing collided with a wooden post and was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preacccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane was fueled before the flight. The fueler reported that he incorrectly fueled the airplane with Jet A fuel instead of Avgas. He added that he did not notice the “Avgas only” label adjacent to the fuel port, and that he did not follow the company’s fueling checklist while fueling the accident airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Ground crew
— Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid type

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_WPR21LA342.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type. All research papers