Beech D55 accident near Corsicana, Texas, September 5, 1996
On September 5, 1996 at about 7:27 am local time, a Beech D55, registered N873LB, was destroyed in an accident near Corsicana, Texas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain minimum control airspeed which resulted in the loss of control. Factors were the bent collar of the left main fuel tank refueling neck which resulted in fuel siphoning from the tank in flight, the pilot's failure to follow procedures to cross feed fuel from the right main tank to the left engine which led to left engine power loss by fuel starvation, the pilot's lack of total experience in the make and model of airplane, and the dark night light condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 5, 1996 · about 7:27 am local time
- Place
- Corsicana, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech D55 · all D55s on the register
- Registration
- N873LB · no longer on the register · serial TE-711
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was on a night cross-country freight flight. A pilot witness reported that the pilot told him, on 122.85, that his left engine had failed. A second pilot witness reported hearing the pilot transmit that the engine came back on line when he switched to the aux tank, but he decided to make a precautionary landing prior to Dallas anyway. The pilot transmitted to ATC: 'I will contact you when I get on the ground and let you know the name of the airport.' The airport had pilot controlled lighting, on 122.80, which included a VASI approach system. The airplane was found with the gear down, the flaps down, the left propeller at low pitch but not feathered, and the right engine throttle at idle. The fuel selectors were found with the right one on the main tank and the left one on the aux tank. No fuel was found in the left wing tanks. The second pilot witness stated that she flew the airplane the night before, and that fuel had siphoned from the left main tank, which she reported to dispatch upon landing. Postcrash examination of the left wing main fuel port collar revealed deformations in the collar. The pilot had completed his Part 135 check ride 3 days before the accident.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,886 hours in all; 390 in this make and model; 213 in the last 90 days; 67 in the last 30 days; 1,800 as pilot in command; 556 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,196 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 19, 1996; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HOU Houston TX at 6:30 am
- Destination: DAL Dallas TX
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 am from ACT, 60 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N873LB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.