N6561B – Britten-Norman BN-2A-20 – 2007-07-15 NTSB Accident Report

On July 15, 2007, a Britten-norman BN-2A-20 (N6561B) was involved in an incident near Stanley, ID. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to verify that the airplane was refueled, which resulted in a loss of engine power from both engines due to fuel exhaustion and a forced landing. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

According to the pilot, before the flight prior to the accident flight, he placed a fuel order, but did not verify that the twin-engine airplane was refueled before departing with 8 passengers for a cross country flight. This flight reached its destination without incident, the passengers exited the airplane, and the pilot then departed as the sole occupant of the airplane on a repositioning flight. Shortly after takeoff, at an altitude of about 400 feet agl, the left engine "started to sputter." The pilot executed the engine failure checklist and upon retarding the left throttle, the airplane yawed to the left "giving [the pilot] the impression it was still producing power." He decided not to shut down the engine and began a right turn to return to the departure airport.

This incident is documented in NTSB report SEA07CA221. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N6561B.