Beech 23 accident near Abilene, Texas, November 15, 2021
On November 15, 2021 at about 5:50 pm local time, a 1963 Beech 23, registered N8701M, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Abilene, Texas (Abilene Rgnl airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor’s inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the missing placard showing the usable fuel quantity.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 15, 2021 · about 5:50 pm local time
- Place
- Abilene, Texas · Abilene Rgnl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 23, built 1963 · all 23s on the register
- Registration
- N8701M · no longer on the register · serial M-485
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor completed about a 1-hour instructional flight with a student pilot, then was able to add only 4.19 gallons of fuel due to an issue with the airport’s fuel pump. The flight instructor then completed another 1-hour flight with a second student pilot. During this flight they used both fuel tanks, switching between tanks about every 30 minutes, and the flight instructor thought there would have been about 11 gallons remaining in the left tank and about 3 gallons in the right tank. They had completed one touch-and-go landing, then after takeoff, about 500 ft above ground level, the engine sustained a loss of power. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and requested that the student pilot complete the emergency checklist for a loss of engine power. They were unable to restart the engine and made an emergency landing to an area of mesquite trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The initial postaccident examination revealed that the wing fuel tanks were breached during the impact with trees and there was no sign or smell of residual fuel at the accident site. A detailed examination of the engine and fuel system did not reveal any residual fuel in the fuel system or engine components, and there were no anomalies found that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane manufacturer issued service instructions in 1974 that increased the amount of total unusable fuel from 1 gallon to 7.6 gallons (3.8 gallons per tank). The instructions had not been complied with since there were no updated placards to indicate 26 gallons of usable fuel for each tank. A postaccident fuel consumption estimation was completed based on the available evidence, which concluded that there could have been up to 7.79 gallons of usable fuel available. Since there was no recorded engine data, fuel quantity data, fuel at the accident site, or fuel remaining the airplane, the investigation was unable to determine the exact amount of usable fuel available, if any, when the loss of engine power occurred. It is likely that the flight instructor’s misunderstanding of the usable fuel quantity, and his inadequate management of the available fuel, resulted in fuel starvation and a loss of engine power.
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
What happened, in order
- Fuel starvation during initial climb defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid management
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
- Aircraft › Aircraft handling/service › Placards and markings › (general) › Not specified
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 336 hours in all; 3.3 in this make and model; 44.2 in the last 90 days; 10.3 in the last 30 days; 209.3 as pilot in command; 49 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 8, 2021
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,581 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 2, 2021
- Maximum gross weight: 2,305 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2B (piston); 2,181 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17R/, 7,208 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 am from KDYS, 9 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KDYS 151756Z AUTO 21009KT 10SM CLR 27/03 A3009 RMK AO2 SLP168 T02670032 10267 20028 58011
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | 1 |
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 CEN22LA040.