Probable cause
A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the flight instructor's fuel mismanagement.
NTSB analysis
The flight instructor reported that the engine lost all power about 1 minute after he switched fuel tanks while returning to the airport after a local training flight. His efforts to restore engine power were unsuccessful and he performed a forced landing to a road. The airplane touched down hard and subsequently came to rest in a ditch adjacent to the road. Recovery personnel drained about 15 gallons of fuel from the left wing fuel tank and about 1/4 gallon from the right wing fuel tank. The fuel tanks appeared to be intact and no fuel leakage was observed.
A postaccident engine test run was conducted with no anomalies. Based on the minimal amount of fuel recovered from the right tank, it is likely that the flight instructor exhausted the fuel in the right tank and did not switch to the left fuel tank in sufficient time to restore engine power, which resulted in fuel starvation and the total loss of engine power.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN19LA194 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Jul 1, 2019
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Fort Smith, Arkansas
- Nearest airport
- Fort Smith Regional (FSM)
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Beech A23
- N-number
- N3598R
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1965
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.