Beech T-34B accident near Hammond, Louisiana, January 19, 2003
On January 19, 2003 at about 1:15 am local time, a Beech T-34B, registered N20684, was destroyed in an accident near Hammond, Louisiana. It was a ferry flight under public-use (government) rules. 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate inflight planning/decision resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power. A contributing factor was the night light conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 19, 2003 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Hammond, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech T-34B · all T-34Bs on the register
- Registration
- N20684 · no longer on the register · serial BG-10
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Ferry flight · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Approximately 3 hours into the cross-country flight, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine; however, the attempts were unsuccessful. Due to the night conditions, the pilot executed a forced landing to "the lightest colored area of vegatation." During the forced landing, the airplane impacted trees and the terrain, and came to rest upright. An FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, reported that "there was no fuel in the fuel tanks," and no evidence of fuel was found at the accident site.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,784 hours in all; 277 in the last 90 days; 59 in the last 30 days; 4,537 as pilot in command; 1,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 22, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,985 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-4 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 24J Live Oak FL at 10:15 pm
- Destination: BTR Baton Rouge LA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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 FTW03TA087.