Premium research interface

The modern interface for aviation safety intelligence.

Search investigations, review source evidence, monitor watched reports, and trace long-term patterns from one calm, data-first workspace.

63k+
Reports indexed
1940-2026
Coverage
Recent
Last data refresh
Featured Report

Loading…

Loading featured report…

Loading…
Open Report

Safety trends by operating rule

Track fatal and non-fatal accident patterns across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations.

Loading trend charts…

Browse the aviation graph

Move quickly by aircraft, airport, operator, and time with indexes built for research, not wandering.

Last Data Update

By Decade

By Month

Aircraft Manufacturer

More manufacturers

Airports

More airports

Operators

More operators

About

Aviation safety reports, made easier to study

NTSB Reports is an independent research and search tool for public aviation accident and incident records. It brings NTSB aviation reports, structured fields, docket files, extracted figures, photos, videos, and update history into one searchable interface.

The goal is practical safety education: make it faster to find relevant investigations, compare similar events, review factual records, and understand the evidence behind probable-cause and preliminary reports.

The investigative work and source records belong to the National Transportation Safety Board and the published investigation record. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NTSB.

FAQs

NTSB Report

November 28, 2010 · Piper PA-34-200T · N36405

Nocagdoches, TX

Overview

Report Status
Final with probable cause
Event Type
Accident
Date
November 28, 2010
Injury Outcomes
1 injury (1 minor injury)
Location
Nocagdoches, TX
Aircraft
Piper PA-34-200T
Tail Number
N36405
Operator
Jeffrey O Clarke
Injuries
Minor
Aircraft Damage
Substantial
NTSB Number
CEN11LA083

While in cruise flight, about 1 hour and 10 minutes after departure, the left engine lost power. The pilot proceeded to the nearest airport and as he maneuvered the airplane onto the base leg of the traffic pattern, the right engine lost power. He performed a wheels-up forced landing about 600 feet from the runway. He said he had departed with full fuel. A postaccident examination by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors found no evidence of fuel leakage, and the only visible fuel was approximately 5 gallons of unusable fuel. However, retrieval crews reported a very strong smell of avgas when they arrived one hour after the accident. They estimated at least ten to fifteen gallons of avgas was in both the left and right wing tanks. No anomalies were found with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause

Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C

Full Narrative

On November 28, 2010, at 1123 central standard time, a Piper PA-34-200T, N35405, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when the pilot made a wheels up forced landing after both engines lost power near Nocagdoches, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, received minor injuries. The cross-country flight originated at Sugar Land (SGR), Texas, approximately 1100, and was en route to Shreveport (SHV), Louisiana. According to the pilot's accident report, he was in cruise flight at 2,900 feet msl (above mean sea level) at 160 KIAS (knots indicated airspeed) and consuming 14 gph (gallons per hour) each engine. The airplane had been aloft for 1 hour, 10 minutes when the left engine RPM and manifold pressure "dropped significantly." The pilot proceeded to the nearest airport, Nocagdoches (OCH) and entered the traffic pattern. As he turned onto the base leg for runway 18, the right engine lost power. The pilot made a wheels up forced landing at the intersection of FM225 and CR711, about 600 feet prior to the runway. Both wings, the horizontal stabilizer and stabilator were bent. The airplane had recently underwent unknown repairs to the mixture cables, and had recently had a new interior installed. Two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors from the Houston Flight Standards District Office went to the accident site and examined the airplane. In a memo as to their findings, the inspectors said they believed the pilot took off with only 49 gallons of fuel on board. They consulted the airplane's performance charts and estimated that the flight would have consumed approximately 49 gallons of fuel. They figured that the pilot fueled each wing the evening before the accident, but before it could drain from the wet tank to the bladder tank, the fuel overflowed through the filler neck leaving the pilot to think the tanks were full. The inspectors said they could find no evidence of fuel leakage at the accident site. The only visible fuel was approximately 5 gallons of unusable fuel (as stated in the Pilot's Operating Handbook) in the fuel tanks. An airframe and powerplant mechanic sent to recover the airplane reported in a written letter that he arrived on site approximately one hour after the accident. "There was a very strong smell of avgas," he wrote. "It appeared that all six fuel tanks had been compromised from the impact with trees during the forced landing." Six hours later, "The pungent odor of spelled avgas was still quite strong." He said that when the airplane was recovered the next morning, "there was so much avgas in the compromised fuel tanks that extra measures would be needed...to drain the avgas." He concluded that "there was plenty of fuel in both the left and right fuel tanks. I would estimate that there was at least ten to fifteen gallons of avgas in the right wing and about the same in the left wing. There was some mechanical anomaly that caused both engines {to lose power]." According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook and the PA-34-200T Service Manual, each wing has interconnected aluminum inboard and outboard (wet) fuel tanks (with a bladder tank in the middle), having a combined capacity of 64 gallons, for a total capacity of 128 gallons. A large tube, approximately 3 inches in diameter, connects the tanks, allowing fuel from the outboard tank to flow into the inboard tank as the fuel from the inboard tank is being consumed.

Flight

Event TypeAccident
Event Time11:23 CST
Nearest AirportA.L. Mangham Jr. Regional (0nm)
Runway18
Runway Length5000 ft
Runway Width75 ft
Flight Plan FiledNone
Aircraft FireNo
Aircraft ExplosionNo

Aircraft

AircraftPiper PA-34-200T
Tail NumberN36405
Aircraft CategoryAir
DamageSubstantial
OperatorJeffrey O Clarke
Operating RulePart 91
Engines2
Engine TypeUnknown
Engine DetailsContinental · TSIO-360 · Unknown · 200
Seats6

People & Injuries

Injury Summary1 injury (1 minor injury)
Fatal0
Serious0
Minor1
Uninjured0
Total1
Crew 1Age 63 · Third Class · Minor

Conditions

ConditionsVMC
LightDaylight
Wind130° @ 7 kt
Visibility10 sm
CeilingOvercast 4600 ft
Temperature / Dew Point55 / 39 C
Altimeter30.05 inHg
Observation Time17:55
Weather SourceWFAC

Appendix: Source Data