LAX07LA048 · Cessna 414A

The airplane's right engine experienced a loss of power and the airplane collided with a fence during a precautionary landing about 2 miles from the destination airport. Near the conclusion of a cross-country flight, the pilot configured the airplane for landing and continued onto final approach of the traffic pattern at the destination airport. With the airplane between 300 to 500 feet above ground level (agl), the right engine experienced a loss of power. The pilot noted that the airplane was not able to sustain level flight and opted to perform a precautionary landing on a residential street. The left wing collided with a fence and erupted in flames. During recovery of the wreckage, about 1 gallon of fuel was found in the right fuel tank, which remained intact. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the wreckage following the accident. He noted no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded the airplane from operating normally. He did observe both fuel selector valves to be positioned on the right fuel tank. The pilot fueled the airplane at the departure airport with the addition of 70 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel, which he stated gave a cumulative 115 gallons on board (57.5 gallons per tank). The airplane's Pilot Operator's Handbook (POH) states that during normal flight operations the left and right fuel selectors are to be positioned to the "LEFT MAIN" and "RIGHT MAIN" tanks, respectively. When both selectors are positioned to the same tank, fuel from that tank will supply both engines. At the airplane's estimated fuel burn rate of 38 gallons per hour and the accident flight's time en route of 1.5 hours, the total fuel burn for both engines would be 57 gallons. The POH further indicates that with one engine inoperative, the airplane should have been able to obtain at least a 500-foot-per-minute climb.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset