League City

While on an IFR clearance, the pilot reported to approach control that he was unable to maintain 4,000 feet msl, and did not give a reason. Shortly thereafter, the pilot contacted approach control and stated that he had "fuel starvation" in the right engine and the left engine had just quit. Radar data depicted the aircraft at an altitude of 3,400 feet. The controller asked the pilot if they were completely without power, and the pilot responded, "yes, we're now gliding." The controller gave the pilot instructions to the nearest airport, which was approximately 4.5 nautical miles away. After passing 2,100 feet, the pilot informed the controller that he would be landing short. During the forced landing, the airplane struck the top of a tree, crossed over a house, struck another tree, struck a telephone wire which crossed diagonally over a street, and then cleared a set of wires which paralleled the street. The airplane then impacted a private residence within a residential area, and a fire erupted damaging the airplane and the private residence. Ten gallons of fuel were drained from the left locker tank, which supplements the left main fuel tank. Examination of the airframe and engines did not disclose any structural or mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation. Examination of the propeller revealed that neither propeller had been
feathered.

The twin engine airplane had been cleared for a night instrument approach to Galveston, Texas, after flying non-stop from San Diego, California, when the pilot reported that he had lost the right engine and did not have much fuel left. The controller vectored the airplane toward the closest airport, and the airplane was approximately 1 mile northeast of that airport when radar contact was lost. A witness observed the airplane enter a spin, descend in a nose down attitude, and impact near the center of a lake. When the pilot filed his flight plan for the cross country flight, he indicated the airplane carried enough fuel to fly for 7 hours and 30 minutes. At the time radar contact was lost, 7 hours and 32 minutes had elapsed since the airplane departed San Diego. Examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical discrepancies. The landing gear was down, the flaps were extended to about 15 degrees, and neither propeller was feathered. The single engine approach procedure in the airplane owner's manual indicated that the landing gear should be extended when within gliding distance of the field and the flaps placed down only after landing is assured.

The pilot was performing a solo flight when both engines failed simultaneously. He was able to restart both of them but they failed again shortly later. In such situation, he decided to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed and came to rest in a field in League City and was written off. The pilot was unhurt.