N4561W

On July 3, 2002, about 1440, eastern daylight time, a Rockwell Commander 112TC, N4561W, registered to Alpha Aircraft Sales and Leasing Inc., and operated by a private individual as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, ditched into the Atlantic Ocean, about 10 to 12 miles east of Stuart, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed, and the commercial-rated pilot and one pilot-rated passenger, received no injuries. The flight originated from Marsh Harbour Airport, Bahamas, the same day, about 1310.

The pilot said he departed from Spruce Creek Airport about 0840, with about 55 gallons of fuel on board the airplane, and flew to Daytona Beach International Airport where he loaded his friends along with their baggage. He said he then flew from Daytona Beach, departing at 0930, for Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, arriving there about 1215. While en route to Marsh Harbour, he said his cruising altitude was 11,000 feet, and the Global Positioning System (GPS) unit showed a ground speed of 125 knots. He also said he operated the airplane at a power setting between 2,350 and 2,400 rpms, with a manifold pressure of 32 inches Hg, which he said equates to about 65 percent power. He said he had been airborne for a longer time than he had planned, since a waypoint for Marsh Harbour had not been entered into the GPS.

After landing at Marsh Harbour the pilot said he refueled the airplane, adding 10 gallons of fuel to ensure enough fuel for his return flight to Fort Pierce, Florida. He said he departed from Marsh Harbour at 1310, and climbed to 12,000 feet, again operating the airplane at 65 percent power, with an initial ground speed of 115 knots, but also said that later the ground speed varied between 135 and 140 knots. He further said that on both the flight to and from Marsh Harbour the winds had not been significant.

According to the pilot, about 50 minutes after departure he noticed that the gauges showed that the airplane's left fuel tank contained substantially more fuel than the right fuel tank, so he switched the fuel selector from the "both" position to the "left" position. He further stated that about 1445, after having descended from 10,000 feet, and while at 4,000 feet, the airplane's engine began to cease operating. He said he and his passenger attempted to restart the engine, and turned the airplane toward a westerly heading to get over land as soon as possible. At 1446, he said he contacted Air Traffic Control (ATC) with a request, told them his fuel state, and that he needed to head towards land as soon as possible, and at 1450, ditched the airplane in the Atlantic Ocean.

The pilot said that he did not "dip" the tanks to verify the fuel quantity at any time, but he visually inspected the tanks, approximating the fuel quantity, based on his perceived position of the fuel level relative to the metal tab in the tank. He said the owner had fueled the airplane at Spruce Creek Airport, to a fuel level 1 inch above the metal tabs which the owner said represented 55 gallons of fuel in the tank.

The owner of the airplane provided information to the NTSB indicating that the airplane had 50 gallons of fuel on board, and that the fuel consumption should have been about 13.5 gal/hour at 70 to 75 percent power for best economy cruise, and about 14.0 to 14.5 gal/hour if the pilot had not leaned for best economy cruise, but operated at best power settings. The owner further stated that the pilot did not anticipate the additional 23 percent of fuel needed at best power, and therefore did not have enough fuel on board to complete the flight. (See owner's statement).

Information obtained from FAA Miami ATC, showed that at 1434:21, ATC received a radio communications transmission from a person on N4561W stating, "We are out of fuel."