A Pilot's Siege of Troubles Leads to a Fatal Outcome

One takeaway from this tragedy: Altitude is the best defense.

Peter Garrison

Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 03:30 PM ET

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View of the accident aircraft's Aux Pump and Fuel Transfer Switches. NTSB

Key Takeaways:

A Canadian-registry Cessna 340A crashed after its right engine failed due to improper fuel management by the pilot during an approach in darkness and rain.
The pilot, likely fatigued, failed to activate runway lights, secure the engine (feather propeller), retract landing gear and flaps, or maintain adequate airspeed, instead becoming fixated on restarting the engine.
These critical errors led to the aircraft stalling at low altitude, resulting in the fatal crash.
The accident emphasizes the importance of immediately securing an inoperative engine and configuring the aircraft for safe single-engine flight before attempting any diagnosis or restart in an emergency.

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In September 2018, a Canadian-registry Cessna 340A attempting to land at Port Huron, Michigan (KPHN), crashed a half-mile past the departure end of the runway. The airplane was destroyed, and its 690-hour private pilot, the only person aboard, was killed. The accident occurred in darkness and rain, just before midnight, but in VFR conditions.

The pilot, on a business trip to Wisconsin, had left Carp Airport at Ottawa, Ontario (CYRP), around 7:30 p.m. after waiting four hours for a truck to arrive and replenish the airport’s fuel supply. En route at 23,000 feet, he encountered thunderstorms and diverted to St. Thomas, Ontario (CYQS), where he waited on the ground for an hour before continuing to KPHN. He remained at 4,000 feet for the short IFR flight and, on nearing KPHN, was cleared for the GPS Runway 22 approach.