N7833Q

On October 8, 1996, at 2045 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 310Q, N7833Q, crashed about 450 feet east of runway 28 at Truckee-Tahoe Airport, Truckee, California. The pilot was completing a visual flight rules personal flight. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The certificated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Reno International Airport, Reno, Nevada, about 2030.

Safety Board investigators interviewed the pilot via telephone on October 8, 1996. The pilot said that when he was on the downwind leg of runway 28, he became preoccupied with the radios and forgot to switch the fuel tanks' selector handles from the auxiliary tanks to the main tanks. After he switched the fuel selector handles to the main tanks, both engines lost power. He attempted to restart the engines, but without success. The airplane's altitude was insufficient to make the airport and he landed short of the runway.

The pilot also told the investigating FAA inspector from the Reno Flight Standards District Office that after both engines lost power, he turned on the boost pumps. He said that he didn't feather the propellers or retract the landing gear and was unable to extend the glide to the runway.

The FAA inspector reported that he did not find any fuel in the main fuel tanks. He also said that the main fuel tanks and their associated components were not compromised during the impact sequence.