Fuel Exhaustion Left King Air Crew Out of Time, Altitude

Fuel exhaustion led to a left engine flameout on June 16, 2025, when the crew of a Beechcraft King Air E90 initiated a go-around at New Century AirCenter Airport (KIXD) in Gardner, Kansas. The flight instructor had not performed adequate fuel planning, according to the NTSB final report. It further noted that the instructor had not adequately monitored the pilot receiving instruction, which led to inadequate airspeed in the pattern and the need for the go-around. Both pilots sustained minor injuries after the twin turboprop crashed into hangars at KIXD.

In the traffic pattern at KIXD, the airplane was “a little high” on the downwind leg with airspeed “a little fast,” the flight instructor told the NTSB. During the turn from base leg to final, the instructor said his attention had been diverted to a mobile phone to review the airport diagram and taxi route to the maintenance facility.

When the instructor looked up, the airplane was in what he described as a “steep dive” at approximately 85 knots, below the 110-knot target for that phase of flight. The instructor directed the pilot receiving instruction to increase engine power; after the throttles were advanced, the airplane yawed left. The instructor “suspected that the left engine flamed out due to fuel starvation” and took control of the aircraft.

The instructor retracted the gear and flaps, applied full right rudder, and rolled toward the operating right engine. The left propeller was not feathered, and the instructor believed it was still producing limited thrust. Despite the corrective inputs, the airplane continued turning left.

ADS-B data confirmed that the airplane had dropped below Vmc during the base-to-final turn and continued to decelerate during the go-around. The instructor did not attempt to return to the runway, believing the airplane was accelerating and would clear a hangar ahead. The airplane hit the hangar and came to rest on the roof.

Based on the fuel recovered after the accident, the NTSB said there was likely insufficient fuel remaining to complete a go-around and re-enter the traffic pattern with one engine operating. “When drained, the left- and right-wing fuel tanks contained about three fluid ounces and about 30 fluid ounces of fuel, respectively,” the report notes.

The aircraft had departed from Butler Memorial Airport (KBUM) in Missouri to KIXD for a dual purpose: a scheduled transponder test and additional King Air flight time for the pilot receiving instruction. 

Both pilots checked the cockpit fuel gauges during preflight and acknowledged the readings were within the yellow caution band on both wing tanks. The Beech E90 airplane flight manual prohibits takeoffs when fuel gauges indicate within the yellow caution band, defined as zero to 260 pounds of fuel. In a subsequent NTSB interview, the instructor claimed not to have been aware of the airplane’s minimum fuel requirements for takeoff.

Neither pilot visually inspected the fuel tanks during the preflight walkaround. The pilot receiving instruction told the NTSB she “did not know the expected fuel consumption rate” for the King Air and had relied on the instructor’s assessment that the fuel load was sufficient.

Before takeoff, the flight instructor intentionally disabled the auto-feather system, intending to conduct a single-engine demonstration during the flight, an exercise the pilot receiving instruction had not previously seen in the King Air.

An FAA inspector confirmed that the left propeller showed blade damage consistent with a lack of engine power at impact, while the right propeller reflected an operating engine. The autofeather switch was not in the armed position. No flight manual or pilot operating handbook was found aboard the airplane; the only checklist in the cockpit was labeled “Simulator Use Only.”