Event WPR22LA247

Factual narrative

On July 1, 2022, about 1340 Pacific daylight time, a Beechcraft H35 Bonanza, N5546D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Lacrosse, Washington. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that he departed from Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO), Arlington, WA, after an extended preflight and ground run, with an intended destination of Port of Whitman Business Air Center Airport (S94), Colfax, WA. The pilot reported the airplane contained 50 gallons of fuel on departure. After about 1.5 hours, while the pilot performed his pre-landing checklist for his approach, the engine lost all power. The pilot described that the engine power loss sounded as if the engine went to idle. He then switched the fuel selector from the right to left fuel tank, applied full throttle, and increased the mixture to full rich, but the engine did not respond. Shortly after, the pilot initiated a forced landing onto a wheat field. The engine separated from the firewall and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount and truss during the landing. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical anomalies. Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit to all flight surfaces. The fuel system was traced from each wing tank to the fuel selector, which rotated normally and was unobstructed. The right main, left main, right auxiliary, and left auxiliary tanks were not breached and had about 2 gallons, 4 gallons, 8 gallons, and 2.5 gallons, respectively. According to the manufacturer, the unusable fuel of each 20-gallon main tank is 3 gallons and there is a total of 1 gallon of unusable fuel in both auxiliary tanks combined. Mechanical continuity was established throughout the rotating group, valvetrain, and accessory section as the crankshaft was manually rotated at the propeller by hand. Thumb compression was achieved at all six cylinders and the valves displayed normal lift when the crankshaft was rotated. Examination of the cylinders’ combustion chamber using a lighted borescope revealed normal piston face and valve signatures, and no indications of catastrophic engine failure. The pilot of the airplane reported that, he departed with a total of 50 gallons of fuel for a cross-country flight. After about 1.5 hours, as the airplane approached the destination airport, the fuel-injected engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot switched the fuel selector valve from the right main fuel tank to the left main fuel tank and attempted to restart the engine, to no avail. The airplane impacted upsloping terrain during the forced landing, which resulted in the engine separating from the firewall. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have resulted in the loss of engine power. According to the manufacturer, the unusable fuel in each main fuel tank is 3 gallons. The fuel recovered from the right and left main tanks were about 2 and 4 gallons, respectively. A total of about 16.5 gallons was recovered from the main and auxiliary fuel tanks combined. It is likely that the pilot did not properly monitor the fuel supply during the cross-country flight, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to 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).

• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Effect on equipment
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot