N9597R

On April 4, 1994, at 1615 eastern standard time, a Beech BE-35, N9597R, registered to Robert Trindel, experienced a nose gear collapse following a loss of directional control while landing on runway 18 at the Anderson Municipal Airport, Anderson, Indiana, while on a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot was not injured. The flight originated from Leesburg, Florida, on April 4, 1994, at 1200 edt.

The pilot stated he periodically switched fuel tanks during the flight to establish an even fuel burn. However, he stated he was unable to drain the 20 gallons of fuel which was in the right tip tank. The pilot reported that he continued on to his destination of Anderson, Indiana. The pilot was cleared for a right base leg for runway 18. The pilot stated he switched to the left tank while entering the pattern and the airplane became "extremely hard to control." The airplane touched down on runway 18 and during the landing roll it traveled off the right side of the runway, into rough terrain where the nose gear collapsed.

Post accident inspection revealed the fuel system was not venting properly which resulted in the lack of ability to drain fuel from the right tip tank. Local winds reported 30 minutes prior to the accident were from 200 degrees at 12 knots.