Monarch Air Group Beech H-18 accident
Beech H-18 · Accident: total loss of engine power (non-mechanical) during initial climb
From Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) to Lynden Pindling International Airport (MYNN)
Event
- NTSB case
- NYC07FA234
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Charter & commuter
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Visual Meteorological Cond
Beech H-18
- Aircraft type
- Beechcraft H-18
- Category
- Airplane
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N123MD
- Operator
- Monarch Air Group
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Ft. Lauderdale, FLTo Lynden Pindling International Airport (MYNN), Nassau
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Initial climb
- First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Total loss of engine power (non-mechanical)
- Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
- Fuel starvation
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Destroyed
Cause areas
- Pilot in command › Fuel tank selector position, improper
Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
The airplane's right engine experienced a complete loss of power immediately after takeoff and the airplane began to slow. The airplane reached an altitude of approximately 91 feet above ground level and then entered an uncontrolled descent consistent with the onset of a velocity minimum control (Vmc) roll to the right. No evidence of any preimpact failures or malfunctions with either the engine or airframe was discovered, and evidence at the scene indicated that the landing gear had been retracted and the right engine propeller feathered. Examination of the cockpit revealed the right engine fuel selector was positioned between the "60 GAL RIGHT AUX" detent and the "RIGHT ENG OFF" detent. Examination of the fuel system between the selector and the right engine indicated that it was in this position prior to impact. Also, placards next to the fuel selectors stated, "WARNING POSITION SELECTORS IN DETENTS ONLY. NO FUEL FLOW TO ENGINES BETWEEN DETENTS." The pilot loaded the majority of the cargo and performed the weight and balance calculations. Examination of the fuselage revealed that all six cargo bins were full. The investigation also discovered that the furthest aft bin contained 265 pounds of cargo even though placarded for a maximum of 75 pounds. All other bins were loaded considerably below their maximum weight limits. Weight and balance calculations revealed the information listed on the weight and balance form produced by the pilot was erroneous and that the actual center of gravity (CG) of the airplane was rear of the aft CG limit, which would have created instability in the handling characteristics of the airplane, especially after a loss of engine power. In addition, the aft-of-limit CG would have increased the airspeed needed to prevent the airplane from entering a Vmc roll. Performance calculations indicate that with the right engine having lost power immediately after takeoff, the airplane would most likely not have been able to continue the departure on one operating engine.
Probable cause
A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's failure to place the fuel selector for the right engine in the proper position. Contributing to the accident was the improper loading of the cargo.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record NYC07FA234
- Event ID
- 20071009X01533
- Case number
- NYC07FA234
- Dataset
- historical-pre2008
- Source SHA-256
- 89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: ba1095ae2fe43ced3a4095ed59a1326184031e82d525f9cdac63f2b9722d3294; retrieved 2026-09-18T14:41:44.112Z.