Beech 95-B55 accident near Santa Monica, California, November 23, 1994
On November 23, 1994 at about 4:12 am local time, a Beech 95-B55, registered N1898W, was destroyed in an accident near Santa Monica, California (Santa Monica Municipal airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
fuel starvation to both engines due to the CFI's inadequate fuel consumption calculations during the flight, and his failure to ensure that adequate fuel existed in the main tanks to complete the traffic pattern circuit.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 23, 1994 · about 4:12 am local time
- Place
- Santa Monica, California · Santa Monica Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 95-B55 · all 95-B55s on the register
- Registration
- N1898W · no longer on the register · serial TC-1570
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CFI AND STUDENT HAD DEPARTED SANTA MONICA AT 1356 ON A CROSS-COUNTRY CHECKOUT WITH FULL FUEL TANKS. TAKEOFFS, LANDINGS, AND/OR INSTRUMENT APPROACHES WERE MADE AT 6 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE FLIGHT. THE CFI KNEW THE AIRCRAFT HAD INACCURATE FUEL GAUGES. AFTER FLYING FOR 5.3 HOBBS-METER-HOURS, WHILE USING FUEL FROM A COMBINATION OF AUX AND MAIN TANKS, THEY RETURNED TO SANTA MONICA. BOTH PILOTS REPORTED THAT THE MAIN TANKS' FUEL GAUGES INDICATED AT OR ABOVE THE 'YELLOW ARC.' THE CFI AUTHORIZED ONE FINAL TRAFFIC PATTERN CIRCUIT. WHILE CLIMBING TO 1,000 FT, ONE OF THE ENGINES STARTED RUNNING ROUGH THEN QUIT. SECONDS LATER, POWER WAS ALSO LOST ON THE SECOND ENGINE. THE CFI TOOK CONTROL, REVERSED COURSE, AND GLIDED TO THE RUNWAY WITH THE LANDING GEAR INTENTIONALLY RETRACTED TO INCREASE THE LIKLIHOOD OF REACHING THE AIRPORT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED BY THE POSTCRASH FIRE.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,956 hours in all; 106 in this make and model; 137 in the last 90 days; 61 in the last 30 days; 3,579 as pilot in command; 2,921 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,881 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 18, 1994; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-L21 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Cloverfield Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SMO at 4:10 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 4,987 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 340° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:15 am from SMO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.