Beech C-90 accident near Bloomingdale, Georgia, September 15, 2007
On September 15, 2007 at about 2:50 pm local time, a Beech C-90, registered N515KJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bloomingdale, Georgia (Cypress Lakes airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's improper preflight planning and preparation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's reliance on inaccurate fuel gauges.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 15, 2007 · about 2:50 pm local time
- Place
- Bloomingdale, Georgia · Cypress Lakes · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech C-90 · all C-90s on the register
- Registration
- N515KJ · no longer on the register · serial LJ 566
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that he started the accident flight with 500 pounds of fuel, which he thought was sufficient for the flight. Approximately 12 miles from the destination airport both engines lost power. The pilot was vectored to a turf strip 2,700 feet long. He spotted the airport through breaks in the cloud layer and landed on the wet grass. The airplane overran the runway and impacted trees. The pilot stated that he determined the fuel quantity by referring to the fuel quantity gauges, and that the right fuel quantity indicator "consistently reads two hundred pounds less than the left" fuel quantity indicator. Postcrash examination of the airplane showed that it contained no usable fuel and there was no evidence of in-flight or postaccident fuel leakage from the airplane. No evidence of precrash failure of the aircraft fuel system or engines was found.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,226 hours in all; 285 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 1,509 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 4, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,031.4 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 20, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 9,650 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: N515Kj Aviation LLC
The flight
- Departed from: 46A Blairsville GA at 1:55 pm
- Destination: SAV Savannah GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 2,700 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from KSAV, 10 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.
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.