N339Z

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 29, 2017, about 0639 mountain standard time, a Beech M35 airplane, N339Z, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Lake Havasu City Airport (HII), Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The private pilot received minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight. The flight originated from Hemet-Ryan Airport, (HMT), Hemet, California, at an unknown time and was destined for HII.

According to the pilot, he kept the airplane in a hangar at HMT, and he makes the trip between HMT and HII regularly. The pilot did not recall his exact departure fuel from HMT. He conducted the takeoff and climbout, as he always did, on the left main fuel tank. After reaching his cruise altitude of 7,500 ft, he switched to the auxiliary tanks, and later, to the right main tank. While in cruise, he also activated the two pumps to transfer fuel from the tip tanks to the main tanks. He began his letdown for HII about 30 miles out, and when he had the airport in sight, as was his habit, he switched the fuel selector to the left main tank for the landing. At that point the airplane was about 4 miles from HII, and about 2,000 ft above the airport elevation. The engine stopped producing power but continued to windmill. The pilot selected the landing gear down, advanced the mixture and propeller controls, verified that the ignition switch was set to the 'BOTH' position, and that the fuel boost pump was switched on. The engine continued to windmill, but did not start, even after the pilot pushed the engine start button.

The pilot determined that the airplane would not reach the runway, and selected an open desert area as his landing location. He switched to the right main fuel tank, but there was no change in the engine; it continued to windmill only. A short time later, the pilot switched back to the left main tank, again to no avail. While on short final to his selected off-airport site, the pilot recognized that the airplane would strike a "gully" that was approximately perpendicular to his direction of travel; he intentionally pulled up to overfly the gully, with the knowledge that the airplane would likely stall as a result. The airplane overflew the gully, and came down hard on the nose landing gear. The nose landing gear collapsed, but the airplane slid upright to a stop. The pilot shut down the airplane and exited on his own.

First responders arrived on scene shortly thereafter, and the airplane was recovered to a secure facility later that day. The recovery personnel reported that none of the fuel tanks were breached, and that the airplane had about 43 gallons of fuel on board, all of which was contained in the two main tanks. The airplane was retained at the recovery facility for detailed examination by investigators. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. The pilot reported that he had about 400 hours total flight experience, including about 145 hours in the accident airplane make and model. The pilot reported that he had successfully completed Bonanza Pilot Proficiency Program (BPPP) training through the American Bonanza Society. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued in July 2016, and his most recent flight review was completed in February 2017. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONGeneral

The airplane was manufactured in 1960, and was equipped with a Continental Motors IO-470 series engine. The pilot purchased the airplane in September 2016. Maintenance records indicated that the engine was factory-rebuilt in August 1995, and installed in the airplane at a tachometer time of about 827 hours. The most recent annual inspection was completed in June 2017. At that time, the tachometer registered about 1,633 hours.

Fuel System

The airplane was equipped with six fuel tanks, three in each wing. These were designated as Main, Auxiliary ('Aux'), and Tip. The main tanks were bladder tanks, each with a capacity of 25 gallons, of which 22 gallons were usable. Each main tank was equipped with an internal header tank located at the aft inboard corner of the main tank. The sole fuel pickup line for each main tank was located inside each header tank. The fuel pickup line included an attached finger screen, and threaded into a fitting on the header tank. The outboard side of each header tank was equipped with a one-way flapper valve that permitted fuel to flow into, but not out of, the header tank. This header tank system was intended to prevent temporary unporting of the fuel pickup during banked flight.

The bladder-type aux tanks were each 10 gallon capacity, of which 9.5 gallons were usable. The airplane was placarded to "use auxiliary fuel in level flight only." The tip tanks were non original equipment manufacturer modifications. Each of the tip tanks was plumbed to its respective main tank, and fuel could be independently transferred from the tip tank to its respective main tank via a pilot-activated pump. The airplane was placarded to "transfer tip tank fuel in level flight only."

Each main tank fuel pickup line was plumbed directly to the fuel selector valve. The aux tank fuel lines were plumbed to a single line that was then plumbed to the fuel selector valve. The tip tanks were not plumbed to the fuel selector valve.

The fuel selector valve was mounted on a horizontal surface just outboard and forward of the pilot's seat bottom, and was actuated/set by manual rotation of its handle. The fuel selector valve had four designated settings. The selector handle setting positions were not spaced uniformly around the valve control face. Assigning 12 o'clock as the forward position, the four setting positions were: Right main (4 o'clock), Aux tanks (6 o'clock), Left Main (8 o'clock), and Off (10 o'clock).

Pilots Operating Handbook (POH) Information

The landing gear was electrically controlled and actuated, and was equipped with a manual extension system for certain failures. The landing gear could be operated independently of whether the engine was producing power. The POH did not state landing gear extension or retraction times.

The only reference to fuel tank selection in the Cruise, Descent, or Before Landing subsections of the "Normal Procedures" section of the POH was contained in the "Before Landing" checklist, which stated that the fuel selector valve should set to the "more nearly full" main tank. The POH did not address any altitude considerations for this fuel tank selection.

The "Emergency Procedures" Section of the POH contained the following checklists for relevant procedures: METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe 0656 automated weather observation from Needles Airport (EED), Needles California, located about 18 miles northwest of HII, included calm wind, visibility 10 miles, few clouds at 10,000 ft, temperature 35oC, dew point 8oC, and an altimeter setting of 29.85 inches of mercury. AIRPORT INFORMATIONGeneral

The airplane was manufactured in 1960, and was equipped with a Continental Motors IO-470 series engine. The pilot purchased the airplane in September 2016. Maintenance records indicated that the engine was factory-rebuilt in August 1995, and installed in the airplane at a tachometer time of about 827 hours. The most recent annual inspection was completed in June 2017. At that time, the tachometer registered about 1,633 hours.

Fuel System

The airplane was equipped with six fuel tanks, three in each wing. These were designated as Main, Auxiliary ('Aux'), and Tip. The main tanks were bladder tanks, each with a capacity of 25 gallons, of which 22 gallons were usable. Each main tank was equipped with an internal header tank located at the aft inboard corner of the main tank. The sole fuel pickup line for each main tank was located inside each header tank. The fuel pickup line included an attached finger screen, and threaded into a fitting on the header tank. The outboard side of each header tank was equipped with a one-way flapper valve that permitted fuel to flow into, but not out of, the header tank. This header tank system was intended to prevent temporary unporting of the fuel pickup during banked flight.

The bladder-type aux tanks were each 10 gallon capacity, of which 9.5 gallons were usable. The airplane was placarded to "use auxiliary fuel in level flight only." The tip tanks were non original equipment manufacturer modifications. Each of the tip tanks was plumbed to its respective main tank, and fuel could be independently transferred from the tip tank to its respective main tank via a pilot-activated pump. The airplane was placarded to "transfer tip tank fuel in level flight only."

Each main tank fuel pickup line was plumbed directly to the fuel selector valve. The aux tank fuel lines were plumbed to a single line that was then plumbed to the fuel selector valve. The tip tanks were not plumbed to the fuel selector valve.

The fuel selector valve was mounted on a horizontal surface just outboard and forward of the pilot's seat bottom, and was actuated/set by manual rotation of its handle. The fuel selector valve had four designated settings. The selector handle setting positions were not spaced uniformly around the valve control face. Assigning 12 o'clock as the forward position, the four setting positions were: Right main (4 o'clock), Aux tanks (6 o'clock), Left Main (8 o'clock), and Off (10 o'clock).

Pilots Operating Handbook (POH) Information

The landing gear was electrically controlled and actuated, and was equipped with a manual extension system for certain failures. The landing gear could be operated independently of whether the engine was producing power. The POH did not state landing gear extension or retraction times.

The only reference to fuel tank selection in the Cruise, Descent, or Before Landing su...