Beech Be-300 accident near Daytona Beach, Florida, April 15, 2004
On April 15, 2004, a Beech Be-300, registered N301KS, was destroyed in an accident near Daytona Beach, Florida (Spruce Creek Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate management of the airplane's fuel system, which resulted in fuel starvation, a loss of engine power, a forced landing, and damage to the airplane during the landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 15, 2004
- Place
- Daytona Beach, Florida · Spruce Creek Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech Be-300
- Registration
- N301KS · no longer on the register · serial FA61
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that he initiated a fuel transfer due to a fuel imbalance. To affect the fuel transfer, he said he "began crossfeed right to left." When the airplane was about 5 to 10 miles away from Spruce Creek Airport, the pilot said he began his descent from 12,500, and also executed a left turn to begin setting up to land, when suddenly, both engines ceased operating. When he leveled the wings both engines restarted due to auto-ignition. He said the fuel gages showed 300 to 350 lbs of fuel for the right tank, and 100 to 150 pounds on the left, so he decided to continue his approach to Spruce Creek Airport. As he approached Spruce Creek Airport, he again entered a left bank to prepare for a left base to runway 23, and while established in the left turn, both engines ceased operating a second time. He said he did not think he could reach the runway, and decided to make an landing on a taxiway. When the wings became level after the turn, he said both engines again restarted while in the vicinity of the beginning of the taxiway. As he was about to land, he said a car pulled out onto the taxiway, and stopped on the centerline, so he applied power to avoid the car. He said he climbed straight out, and when he made a climbing left turn, he said the engines ceased operating a third time, and the airplane descended towards a cluster of condos. With no runway or clear area in sight, the pilot said he guided the airplane to a retention pond. Follow-on/detailed examinations of the aircraft, engines, and propellers were conducted by an FAA Inspector, as well as technical representatives from Raytheon Aircraft Company, Pratt & Whitney Canada, and Hartzell Propeller Company, and no preaccident anomalies were noted with the airframe, flight controls, engines/accessories, or propellers. According to the FAA Inspector, and the technical representative from the airplane manufacturer, Raytheon Aircraft Company, the pilot was transferring fuel from the left fuel tank to the right fuel tank, and with the reduced amount of fuel in the left tank, as he performed left turns, the engine ceased operating. The Raytheon Aircraft Company representative stated that the Pilot Operating Handbook specifies the use of crossfeed for those times when the airplane is operating on a single engine.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,495 hours in all; 147 in this make and model; 43 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 3,434 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: frt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 9, 2003; 246 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney PT6-60A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney PT6-60A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Mass Bay Kustom Leasing/Michael Rezendes
The flight
- Departed from: SUA Stuart FL at 11:45 pm
- Destination: 7FL6 Daytona Beach FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 3,000 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 21 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from DAB, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.