Beech F33A accident near Millington, Tennessee, October 12, 2005
On October 12, 2005 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Beech F33A, registered N273PS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Millington, Tennessee (Charles Baker airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper fuel management resulting in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. A factor in the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and misjudged distance to the forced landing area resulting in a stall and collision with the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 2005 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Millington, Tennessee · Charles Baker · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech F33A · all F33As on the register
- Registration
- N273PS · registry record · serial CE-379
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated he crossed over the destination airport at mid field and entered a right downwind for landing to runway 36 when the engine lost power. Another airplane was on base leg for landing. The pilot elected to make a forced landing in the grass next to runway 36. He immediately switched the fuel tank from the left main fuel tank to the right fuel tank and attempted an engine restart without success. The pilot stated he misjudged his landing distance by about 150 feet and failed to maintain airspeed on final. The airplane stalled and collided with the ground on the nose gear. Examination of the airplane after the accident revealed the left fuel quantity indicator indicated empty. The fuel tank was not ruptured and no fuel was present in the fuel tank. The pilot's Operating Handbook states the airplane has three gallons of unusable fuel in each fuel tank. Three gallons of fuel was drained from the left main fuel tank. The fuel line was disconnected at the fuel flow divider, and the fuel line to the inlet side of the engine driven fuel pump was disconnected. No fuel was present. The nose section of the airplane was positioned in a brace and the airplane was tied down with a cargo strap. The engine was started and ran smoothly with the fuel selector selected on the right main fuel tank.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,022 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: April 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,607 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 2005; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-BA (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ROG Rodgers AR at 5:05 pm
- Destination: 2M8 Millington TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36, 3,500 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 6:30 pm from NQA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ATL06CA004.