Beech E-55 accident near Ontario, Oregon, October 12, 2006
On October 12, 2006 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Beech E-55, registered N94LL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ontario, Oregon (Ontario Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The dual loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's failure to adequately determine the amount of fuel aboard the airplane during his preflight preparation. A contributing factor was the pilot's misjudgment of distance/speed during the forced landing, which resulted in a runway overrun.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 2006 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ontario, Oregon · Ontario Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech E-55 · all E-55s on the register
- Registration
- N94LL · no longer on the register · serial TE-1080
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, he departed thinking the airplane had 115 gallons of fuel aboard, when it had 55 gallons of fuel aboard. The shortfall of 60 gallons was the result of a refueling request that the pilot made to a fixed base operator that did not take place and that the pilot did not verify had taken place. Fuel exhaustion occurred in both engines when the airplane was approximately 7,500 feet above an airport. The pilot spiraled down over the airport and entered the pattern for runway 14. He intentionally elected "to err on the side of landing long and not have any risk of being short." On short final, the airplane was "clearly high and fast, pretty much as expected, but not slowing, which was not expected." The airplane touched down approximately 1,000 feet prior to the end of the runway, overran the runway end, impacted a concrete irrigation channel about 350 feet from the runway end, and came to a stop approximately 200 feet past the channel.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,665 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 115 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Teledyne Continental IO-520-C7B (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Teledyne Continental IO-520-C7B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FHR Friday Harbor WA
- Destination: S67 Nampa ID
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 14
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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.
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.