A decade or two ago an accident like this would have fallen into the 'for unknown reasons' category. [Credit: Leonardo Correa Luna]
Key Takeaways:
An NTSB investigation determined that an M35 Bonanza crash, resulting in a pilot fatality, was caused by the pilot's mismanagement of the aircraft's complex fuel system.
The fatal error involved the pilot switching to auxiliary fuel tanks while the main tanks were still nearly full, leading to fuel venting, rapid depletion of the auxiliary tanks, and subsequent engine failure from fuel starvation.
Advanced flight data recorders salvaged from the wreckage were crucial in precisely detailing the sequence of fuel mismanagement events that led to the engine failure.
The pilot's potential unfamiliarity with the specific auxiliary fuel tank configuration of this Bonanza model, despite extensive experience, likely contributed to his fatal decision.
On a Friday evening early in January 2023, an Arkansas pilot died in the crash of his M35 Bonanza.
The airplane, manufactured in 1960, had been updated with, among other things, a couple of flight data recorders. Their memory cards survived the crash and allowed National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators to trace in minute detail the events that led to it.
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Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, ""Technicalities"" and ""Aftermath,"" with FLYING readers.
