Mastery Flight Training

Mastery Flight Training, Inc. Beech Weekly Accident Update archives

October 2004 Reports

Official information from FAA and NTSB sources (unless otherwise noted). Editorial comments (contained in parentheses), year-to-date summary and closing comments are those of the author. All information is preliminary and subject to change. Comments on preliminary topics are meant solely to enhance flying safety. Please use these reports to help you more accurately evaluate the potential risks when you make your own decisions about how and when to fly. Please accept my sincere personal condolences if anyone you know was in a mishap. I welcome your comments, suggestions and criticisms. Fly safe, and have fun!

10/7/04 Report

Beechcraft Piston Aircraft Accidents posted 10/1/04 through 10/7/04

Official information from FAA and NTSB sources (unless otherwise noted)

Editorial comments (contained in parentheses), year-to-date summary and closing comments are those of the author.

All information is preliminary and subject to change. Comments on preliminary topics are meant solely to enhance flying safety. Please use these reports to help you more accurately evaluate the potential risks when you make your own decisions about how and when to fly.

**THE WEEKLY ACCIDENT UPDATE IS AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCT OF MASTERY FLIGHT TRAINING, INC.**

NEW REPORTS THIS WEEK

9/30 2128Z (1628 local): Three perished in the crash of a Be95 “under unknown circumstances…two miles form the Burlington (Wisconsin) airport,” which was the originating point of the flight. The Travel Air has “unknown” damage. Weather in the area was “clear and 10” with a seven-knot wind. N1703Y is/was a 1962 B95A recently (January 2004) registered to an LLC in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

(“Crash/Unknown”; “Fatal”; “Recent registration”—online television images showed the airplane sitting flat in a stand of trees. There was little evidence of forward motion at the point of impact. The left engine and nacelle had separated from the firewall and was nearly inverted in place ahead of the wing…all suggesting an upright but nearly vertical impact as might result from a flat spin. We’ll see what the NTSB report might say)

10/1 1847Z (1347 local): A Be18 was receiving VFR flight following advisories from an unknown point of origin to Sikeston, Missouri, when its pilot advised ATC he was making a fuel stop at Sturgis, Kentucky. About 20 minutes after handing the flight off to local advisory frequency the same controllers were advised “there had been a crash at Sturgis airport (and) the airport was closed….” Three aboard the Twin Beech report no injury and damage is “minor;” weather is reported as “VFR.” N279SC is a 1955 E18S registered since 2001 to an individual in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

(“Landing/Unknown”—from the absence of injury and the level of damage it may be a ground loop/loss of control on landing, a landing gear-related mishap, or some similar low-impact event).

10/3 2340Z (1640 local): Completing a flight from Eureka, California to Newport, Oregon, a Be24 “had a complete electrical failure.” The pilot “turned off the engine and executed a very gentle gear up landing…at Newport Municipal Airport.” The two aboard avoided injury and damage was “minor.” Weather: “clear and 10” with a 10 to 15 knot wind. N6716V is a 1980 C24R recently (February 2004) registered to a corporation in Fortuna, California.

(“Gear up landing”: “Recent registration”—this smacks of lack of familiarity with airplane systems. The Sierra has a hydraulic landing gear system dependent on electricity for normal operation, but has an emergency extension procedure that consists of inserting a tubular wrench into a slot on the floorboards ahead of the pilot’s seat. One turn of this wrench and pressure that holds the gear up is relieved, allowing the gear to free-fall down and locked. This is entirely independent of the electrical system. If the FAA report is correct and complete, whether the pilot was not checked out in this procedure; did not read the POH beforehand or reference the checklist during the event; or did not properly locate the wrench during the preflight cabin inspection only to find him/herself without it when the need arose; it sounds as though the pilot delivered a fine but entirely unnecessary gear-up landing. I’ll be happy to publish any first-hand account of this mishap to clarify the event for the education of all.)

NEW NTSB PRELIMINARY REPORTS: All previously reported in the Weekly Accident Update, and subject to update per NTSB findings.

**There are no newly posted piston Beech NTSB reports this week.**

10/14/04 Report

Beechcraft Piston Aircraft Accidents posted 10/8/04 through 10/14/04

Official information from FAA and NTSB sources (unless otherwise noted)

Editorial comments (contained in parentheses), year-to-date summary and closing comments are those of the author.

**THE WEEKLY ACCIDENT UPDATE IS AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCT OF MASTERY FLIGHT TRAINING, INC.**

NEW REPORTS THIS WEEK

**There were no newly posted piston Beech FAA preliminary reports this week**

(Just completing three years of the Beech piston Weekly Accident Update, this is the very first week when there were absolutely no newly reported Beech mishaps…and that even includes the period of the flight restrictions immediately following 9/11, when there were still newly posted mishaps to report. Great work, people!)

NEW NTSB PRELIMINARY REPORTS: All previously reported in the Weekly Accident Update, and subject to update per NTSB findings.

**9/30 triple-fatality Travel Air crash at Burlington, Wisconsin. Change “Crash/Unknown” to “Loss of control immediately following takeoff”). http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20041006X01587&key=1 **

10/21/04 Report

NEW REPORTS THIS WEEK

10/15 1852Z (1452 local): “On departure” from Hyannis, Massachusetts, the pilot of a Be24 “declared a mayday and made an emergency landing on a golf course.” The pilot, departing IFR to Martha’s Vineyard into an eight hundred to 1300-foot variable overcast, good visibility and an eight-mile wind, was not hurt; airplane damage was “substantial.” N6598C is a 1983 C24R registered since 1988 to an individual in Newton, Massachusetts.

(“Takeoff/unknown”; “Substantial damage”; “IMC”—I suspect an engine problem but we have no firm evidence at this time)

10/16 2047Z (1647 local): A Be55 “landed gear up on Runway 27 and skidded approximately 50 yards,” at Kennesaw, Georgia. The solo pilot was not hurt despite “substantial” aircraft damage. Weather was 6000 broken, 12,000 broken, visibility 10 with surface winds from 310 degrees at 12 gusting to 16 knots. N3197W is a 1974 B55 registered since 1993 to a corporation in Tampa, Florida.

(“Gear up landing”; “Substantial damage”—another in the strong correlation between strong or gusty surface winds [which introduce distraction and give visual cues of reduced ground speed and approach angle similar to that experienced with gear extension in calm winds] and gear-up landings)

10/17 1800Z (1400 local): A Be50 “stalled and crashed under unknown circumstances” while taking off on a local flight from Somerville, Virginia. The lone pilot was killed and the Twin Bonanza was “destroyed.” Weather: “clear and 10” with surface winds at eight gusting to 14 knots. N171S was a 1959 H50 registered since 1988 to a corporation in Hartwood, Virginia.

(“Stall on takeoff”; “Fatal”; “Aircraft destroyed”)

10/19 1450Z (1050 local): Two died and their Be55 was “destroyed” when, after departure from Atlanta, Georgia’s Peachtree-Dekalb Airport, the Baron was seen to descend into a vacant warehouse in downtown Atlanta. There were no injuries on the ground although the warehouse was consumed by fire. The flight, bound for Venice, Florida, took off into weather of 1300 scattered, 2900 broken, 8000 overcast, visibility 10 miles with surface winds exceeding 25 knots. N322WW was a 1979 B55 registered since 1997 to a corporation in Nokomis, Florida.

(“Crash/Unknown”; “Fatal”; “Aircraft destroyed”—local media state witnesses reported the airplane was seen to descend for several thousand feet in what was described as a “flat spin” or a “series of loops” before impact. Although conditions sound benign the weather report for nearby Atlanta Hartsfield included the phrase “heavy thunderstorms” at the time of the crash; the area was under the influence of a weather system that had spawned widespread severe thunderstorms and tornadoes west of Atlanta the day before. The airplane’s owner and his wife were reportedly on board.)

10/19 2150Z (1750 local): A Be55 has “unknown” damage resulting from a “hard landing” at dusk, at Chesterfield, Missouri. The lone pilot has no injuries; weather was “not reported.” N558B is a 1979 B55 registered since 2001 to a corporation in St. Paul, Missouri.

(“Hard landing”)

10/19 2350Z (1650 local): “On landing” at Arlington, Washington, the pilot of a Be35 “was unable to lower (the) left main gear.” The pilot “landed in the grass,” resulting in no injuries and “minor” damage. Weather at Arlington was “not reported.” N111K is a 1961 N35 registered since early 2003 to a corporation in Wrangell, Alaska.

(“Landing gear: known mechanical malfunction”)

10/20 2300Z (1800 local): During a “training” flight at Georgetown, Texas, a Be58’s landing gear collapsed during the landing roll. The Baron “veered off into the grassy area,” with no injuries to the four on board and “unknown” damage. Weather at Georgetown: “clear and 10” with a six-knot wind. N977GF is/was a 1972 58 registered since 1994 to a corporation in Georgetown.

(“Gear collapse on landing”; “Dual instruction”—a mechanical problem? Inadvertent gear retraction on the landing roll or during a touch and go? Hard landing during single-engine landing practice?)

NEW NTSB PRELIMINARY REPORTS: All previously reported in the Weekly Accident Update, and subject to update per NTSB findings.

**There were no piston Beech accidents newly posted on the NTSB web site this week**

10/28/04 Report

NEW REPORTS THIS WEEK

10/21 0030Z (1730 local): A Be24 “force landed in a vineyard (0.7 miles) south of Cloverdale Airport,” Cloverdale, California. The three aboard escaped injury despite “substantial” damage. Weather for the flight from Heelsburg, California to Cloverdale was “not reported.” N18942 is a 1977 C24R registered since mid-2003 to an individual in Fort Bragg, California.

(“Engine failure in flight” [more in a moment]; “Substantial damage”—the pilot of this airplane described the incident publicly on an internet chat line, stating he had an engine failure and the glide characteristics of the Sierra prevented him from making it to the runway. Photos the pilot posted online show the airplane nose-up with wing damage; it appears the pilot executed an excellent off-airport landing only to have the nose wheel impact an object or hole during the rollout, a not uncommon occurrence when landing off-airport. The pilot relates that the airplane is likely “totaled.”)

10/23 1446Z (1046 local): A solo pilot died and his Be33 “destroyed” under “unknown circumstances” at Hendersonville, North Carolina. In unreported weather conditions the flight was originating with a stated destination of Norfolk, Virginia. Last radio exchange between ATC and the IFR flight was five miles east of Hendersonville, when the pilot was given clearance to “climb and maintain” an unreported altitude. N18303 was a 1977 F33A recently (July 2004) registered to a corporation in Yorklyn, Delaware.

(“Departure/Unknown”; “Fatal”; “Aircraft destroyed”; “Recent registration”)

10/23 2030Z (1530 local): The wreck of a Be35 was “found 3.5 miles (west) of Chester, (Arkansas).” Two aboard the Bonanza were found dead in the airplane. The “pilot (had) received a weather briefing from Greenwood, Mississippi” at an unspecified time. “Other circumstances (are) unknown” and aircraft damage is “substantial.” N3889B is a 1955 F35 registered since 1993 to an individual in Tryon, Oklahoma.

(“Crash/unknown”; “Fatal”; “Substantial damage”; “IMC”—an Arkansas paper corrected a statement in the original FAA posting that the crash happened “two of three days before” the 10/20 discovery, and narrowed down the 10/23 mishap date. The Bonanza had left popular resort and casino location Tunica, Mississippi at about 12:30 pm that Sunday and crashed roughly three hours later. The pilot and his wife, returning home to Stillwater, Oklahoma, were aboard. “The plane settled in a ravine off County Road 12, south of the Bobby Hopper Tunnel and about three miles west of Interstate 540,” reports local media. “The lack of smoke caused by the crash initially led sheriff's officials to think the plane had been in the spot for a day or more, said Detective Aaron Beshears of the Crawford County sheriff's office.

“The…plane caught Levi Behm's attention as it flew over his property Thursday. Behm, 39, noticed the plane because it appeared to be flying erratically. He said he was surprised someone would be flying in the fog. "It came right across the treetops, out of nowhere," Behm said. The aircraft disappeared into the clouds, he said, but he could still hear its engine. He didn't hear the crash.”)

10/24 2310Z (1710 local): A Be17 nosed over on landing at Denver, Colorado’s Jeffco Airport. Two aboard were not hurt despite “substantial” damage. Weather for the local flight was not reported. N16M is a 1944 D17S registered since 1988 to an individual in Arvada, Colorado.

(“Nose-over on landing”; “Substantial damage”)

10/25 1225Z (0825 local): A Be35 “crashed under unknown circumstances” at Aiken, South Carolina, killing the sole pilot and causing “substantial” aircraft damage. The flight was arriving at Aiken from Spartanburg, South Carolina; the IFR trip had been handed off to local advisory frequency and made last radio contact 7/8 of a mile from the airport. Weather was “not reported.” N32AB is a 1962 P35 registered since 1998 to an individual in Trenton, South Carolina.

(“Landing/unknown”; “Fatal”; “Substantial damage”—local press reports give few details except that the pilot was returning home after taking two granddaughters to Spartanburg, and that the airplane crashed into a wooded area.)

10/26 1630Z (1230 local): A Be36 “impacted the runway on climb” during an IFR departure from Charleston, South Carolina. The solo pilot was not hurt although aircraft damage was “substantial.” Departure area weather for the IFR flight, bound for Washington, D.C., was “VFR.” N1550U is a 1994 A36 registered since 1998 to a corporation in Miami, Florida.

(“Loss of control immediately after takeoff—wake turbulence encounter” [more momentarily]; “Substantial damage”—I’ve corresponded with the owner, who cites wake turbulence and disputes the FAA preliminary report’s attribution of the mishap to a power loss. The airplane has extensive damage but will be rebuilt.)

NEW NTSB PRELIMINARY REPORTS: All previously reported in the Weekly Accident Update, and subject to update per NTSB findings.

**There were no piston Beech accidents newly posted on the NTSB web site this week**

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