Cessna 402-B | N4167G

The DTSB determines the Probable Cause of this accident to be Pilot Error, in that the pilot elected to takeoff with minimum fuel on board, and likely became confused which fuel was considered main, and which would be auxiliary. On this aircraft, the tip tanks are considered to be main, which is opposite of most other piston twin engine aircraft. The pilot took off on runway 08 and proceeded to turn left, and eventually did request to land for a vibration problem. The pilot declared an emergency for engine failure and the aircraft was observed flying with one engine at high power, the other more silent, and the plane flying somewhat sideways. The aircraft eventually rolled inverted and impacted due to attempted flight below Vmc with one engine not feathered, and the other at near full power.

Probable Cause issued 5/13/2026 – 22 months after the accident: The pilot’s decision to operate the airplane with known maintenance discrepancies, which resulted in a total loss of right engine power. Contributing to the outcome was the pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed while returning to the airport with a single operating engine, which resulted in a loss of airplane control.

The DTSB recommends that all pilots of all twin engine aircraft rehearse and become conditioned in the proper handling of asymmetric thrust situations in flight, and be fully prepared to respond properly. The DTSB also recommends that all pilots plan to land with a minimum of one hour fuel for both day and night VFR operations. The DTSB also recommends that all pilots have a means of manually checking fuel quantities in each tank prior to each takeoff.