N23583 – BEECH V35B – 2016-08-30 NTSB Accident Report

On August 30, 2016, a Beech V35B (N23583) was involved in an incident near Sioux Falls, SD. All 2 people 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 adequately manage the available fuel supply, resulting in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the inadequate preflight by the pilot and flight instructor, and the flight instructor's failure to monitor the fuel levels.

While on final during a practice instrument approach, the engine lost total power. An attempted engine restart and switching of the fuel tanks was unsuccessful. The flight instructor took control of the airplane from the pilot receiving instruction, and executed a forced landing to a corn field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The airplane was recovered from the field and about 1 cup of fuel was found in the right fuel tank, and the left wing fuel tank was about 3/4's full. The engine was functionally tested for about 10 minutes on the airframe with no anomalies noted. The pilot reported he did not check the wing fuel tanks during pre-flight and relied on the cockpit fuel gauges for fuel quantity.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN16CA364. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N23583.