Beech A-36 accident near Tacoma, Washington, May 31, 2005
On May 31, 2005 at about 3:15 am local time, a Beech A-36, registered N9017V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tacoma, Washington. It was a personal 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The malfunction of the fuel injection control system, for undetermined reasons, while the aircraft was on base leg for a full-stop landing. Factors include soft terrain in the area where the pilot found it necessary to perform a forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 31, 2005 · about 3:15 am local time
- Place
- Tacoma, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech A-36 · all A-36s on the register
- Registration
- N9017V · registry record · serial E-274
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After flying in the local area for about 20 minutes, the pilot entered the VFR traffic pattern, and after turning on base leg the aircraft's engine suddenly lost all power. He was therefore forced to execute a power-off landing in an open field, where the aircraft's nose gear encountered some soft terrain and collapsed. A post-accident inspection determined that there was sufficient uncontaminated 100LL fuel on board. During a series of test runs, the engine ran extremely rough at rpm's below 1,500, and it quit a number of times during the run. The engine smoothed out some when the fuel boost pump was turned on to the low position, and smoothed out even more when the pump was turned to the high position. The un-metered fuel pressure was measured, and although it was lower than the specification directed, it was not low enough to account for the very rough running engine. At the end of the series of test runs, the spark plugs were removed, and their white ashy color confirmed that the engine was running extremely lean. Further flow tests and inspections were performed on the fuel system components after they were removed from the aircraft, but the results of these tests did not reveal any anomalies that would be expected to cause the engine to run rough or quit while on a reduced power approach. In addition, the fuel pump was tested to ensure that there was no air leaking past the shaft seal, and the results of that test was negative. At the completion of the testing/inspection process, it could not be clearly determined what was causing the engine's fuel system to run so lean.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 786 hours in all; 258 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 380 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,500 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2004
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550-B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KTIW Tacoma WA at 2:55 am
- Destination: KTIW
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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 SEA05LA110.