Beech down near Springdale

[Flying Razorback]

I saw in the news last night that a Beechcraft of some sort had gone down near Springdale yesterday evening?  Is there anymore word from anyone that lives up there?  What type of plane or any circumstances?

[tophawg19]

AF  ched has it all in another topic . basically it appears they ran out of fuel , flying from Camden to Fayetteville

[Flying Razorback]

AF  ched has it all in another topic . basically it appears they ran out of fuel , flying from Camden to Fayetteville

Oh sweet, thanks a lot.  I didn't see it in here and honestly didn't look anywhere else.  Which forum?  MMQB?

[Pistol Pete]

I hate that this happened, as I'm sure we all do. I was born and raised in Camden... Searcy Harrell was a very well known attorney and businessman.
I've scratched my head thinking about how he ran out of fuel, on a 45 minute flight, in a King Air... I can't believe he'd run it that low on his last flight.

[pigture perfect]

I don't understand it either. I grew up in Camden as well and knew the Harrells. Sad.

[john c]

Read the news reports and, yes, very sad.  Sounds like he was not only a nice guy but a help to the community.

What time did he depart from Camden?  Before the FBO was up and around?  Do they have self-serve fuel?  I'm not sure how hard it is to visually check the fuel on a King Air and don't know how the gauges look but distraction always seems to raise its ugly head regarding these events.  Sold our Seneca to a local bank and they continued to use the commercial pilot we often used and he ran it out of fuel a few months later while hauling the wife of the bank's chairman and an exec to KC to catch a commercial flight.  They left out early in a rain shower and the pilot thought that the FBO had fueled it after the plane returned from a trip to Hot Springs the evening before.  Thing was that the plane had never been put up at all and the pilot thought it had been put up, fueled up and put back out for him for an early a.m. flight.  My understanding is that the passengers were nervous about the rainy weather and the pilot got distracted keeping them calm about departing and didn't visually check the fuel - an easy thing to do on a Seneca, especially if you think the tanks had been topped off.  The gauges on any airplane are suspect but there is a difference between pegged left and pegged right - unless you are distracted and making assumptions.

I had made a rule for our employees and guests when flying with this pilot that  they weren't to talk to him before getting to cruise altitude or after descent begun because I sensed he would get distracted a little if he had to do any steward duties.

Don't know if Harrell realized he was pushing the envelope before an engine went out or not.  It dawned on the Seneca pilot when the right engine sputtered.  That had to be a sick feeling.  Thankfully, the Seneca occupants all walked away with minor injuries because the weather was good and there were numerous plowed farm fields.

Sad, sad.

[GusMcRae]

I guess if you run a king air out of fuel, it's way different that if it were a C-150, 172, 182, or even a Seneca,,,,, drops like a rock I'm guessing..... 
That is a shame.
My CFI tried to teach me to never trust the gauges. 
I typically keep in mind how much fuel I landed with, then when I fly again, check the gauges to see if it's where I thought they were when I landed last, and if in doubt, get the glass tube out and check. Or if weight is not a factor, I just top off before I depart, because it's usually more expensive wherever I'm going.
I can see how there would be much more room for error if you were renting or sharing a plane with others.   

[Pistol Pete]

Not sure when he departed Camden, thinking it was after dark. But I'm almost positive it's self serve only.
Complete speculation here, but I'm guessing he wanted full service at Springdale. Just a guess. But, I wouldn't even fly his previous flight that close to empty. Lots of questions...

[Pistol Pete]

I pushed my plane to 8 gallons of usable left, on my way back from Pascagoula. Still mad at myself for doing that. Had to divert to KORK due to runway closure at SUZ. Also diverted around low cloud cover in south Miss.
I made a rule of 3 hours max, and went 3.4. Still had an hour reserve, but a small leak (like we've had before), would have caused a major problem.

[GusMcRae]

When my gauges get down to showing E, there's still a fair amount of fuel in there.  Once when I had checked with the tube, and even allowing for a fudge factor for the length of my trip to get to some cheaper fuel, my gauges were showing E by the time we were arriving at our destination, and my wife was puckered up pretty good and giving me the business about it,,,, I felt that I was allowing plenty for what stays in the tanks, fuel burn, etc... but still that uncertainty starts creeping in.  I checked with the tube again after landing and I had better than an hour left in the tanks.  That's the lowest I've ever run my tanks. 

[cosmodrum]

Wildhog's family were friends of the pilot. From what I understand, he had recently had a fuel leak repaired. That may have been the culprit.

[john c]

Possible fuel leak repair before a fuel out accident?  Wow.  It's got to be a very nerve wracking thing when your powered ship has just become a glider.  What a shame, what a shame. 

I've had some of my family so puckered up that I would have needed a crowbar to pop them off the seat - if I could have gotten loose myself.  Those memories are pretty far apart but they leave a strong mark.