Boeing 307 accident report

NTSB concludes fuel starvation cause of crash

The crew of Boeing 307 N19903 had originally, on 28 March 2002, planned to practice landings at an airport about 20 minutes away, then stop, refuel the plane, and subsequently return to the original departure airport at Boeing Field. Prior to the flight, the crew discussed fuel endurance, which was calculated to be two hours based on the captain's knowledge of the airplane's fuel consumption, and the quantity of fuel indicated on the gauges. The fuel tanks were not dipped.

The flight was made at 1500-ft msl. Upon reaching the practice airport, the crew conducted one full stop-landing, then taxied back for takeoff. During takeoff, an engine had a momentary overspeed, and the crew decided to return to the original departure airport without refueling. Approaching Boeing Field, the airplane had to delay landing for about seven minutes for a manual gear extension. Upon completion, the Boeing 307 turned back toward the airport and was about six miles from the runway when fuel pressure for one of the engines dropped.

The boost pumps were turned on. However, the engine lost power. A low fuel pressure light then illuminated for another engine. The captain called for the flight engineer to switch fuel feed to another tank, but the flight engineer responded, "we're out of fuel." The remaining engines subsequently lost power, and the captain ditched the airplane into the bay.

The time from first takeoff until ditching was one hour, 19 minutes. The airplane had flown 39 hours since restoration and exact fuel capacities, fuel flow calculations and unusable fuel amounts had not been established. A dipping chart had been prepared, with one person in the cockpit and one person with a yardstick putting fuel in a main tank in 25-gal increments. However, the data had not been verified, and dipping was not considered to be part of the pre-flight inspection.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable causes) of this accident as follows: Loss of all engine power due to fuel exhaustion that resulted from the flight crew's failure to accurately determine onboard fuel during the pre-flight inspection. A factor contributing to the accident was a lack of adequate crew communication regarding the fuel status.

Copyright Challenge Publications Inc. May 2003
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