From unofficial sources
7/20 (time not reported): The pilot of a Be36 taxied into the tail of a Be35 during a “formation” movement one the ground at an unknown airport en route to La Crosse, Wisconsin as part of a planned mass flight to Oshkosh. The Be35 appears to have “substantial” damage, with its ruddervators, stabilators and aft fuselage receiving significant propeller damage. The Be36 appears to have “minor” damage that includes significantly damaged propeller and perhaps other impacts. N813MM (E-3342) is a 2000 A36 registered in New York, New York. N24AG (D-10293) is a 1979 V35B registered in Columbia City, Indiana.
(“Ground collision during ‘formation’ taxi”; “Substantial damage”)
New reports this week
7/19 1926Z (1426 local Wednesday afternoon): A Be55’s gear collapsed while landing at Lake Charles, Louisiana. The solo pilot wasn’t hurt; airplane damage is “unknown”. N7453N (TC-1122) is a 1968 B55 registered in Cape Coral, Florida.
(“Gear collapse during landing”)
7/20 1736Z (1236 local Thursday afternoon): A Be36 “experienced engine issues” and “made [a] forced landing in a field” at Oberlin, Kansas. Both persons aboard escaped injury; airplane damage is “unknown”. N36900 (E-1739) is a 1980 A36 registered in Dalhart, Texas.
(“Engine failure in flight”–the pilot appears to have been heading in the general direction of home, deviating around storms, when the engine failure occurred roughly 2.5 hours into a flight for Wyoming.)
7/20 1855Z (1255 local Thursday afternoon): Two aboard a Be35 received “minor” injuries when the Bonanza “experienced engine issues” and “clipped power lines” while “on approach to land” at Rock Springs, Wyoming. Aircraft damage is “unknown”. N620D (D-2879) is a 1951 C35 registered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(“Engine failure during approach/landing”–the flight had departed North Las Vegas Airport a little more than three hours earlier. Rock Springs is a common waypoint for a flight along Interstate Highway I-80 for a reasonably low altitude passage through the Rocky Mountains. The flight was on the first leg toward Oshkosh, according to the pilot.)
7/23 1651Z (1151 local Sunday morning): Three aboard a Be35 received “minor” injuries when the Bonanza “experienced engine issues and crashed into an apartment” at Georgetown, Texas. The airplane received “substantial” damage. N365B (D-4995) was a 1957 H35 registered in Austin, Texas.
(“Engine failure on approach/landing”; “Airplane destroyed”–on the basis of news photos. From Aviationsafety.net:
The pilot reported that there was a loss of engine power as he entered the traffic pattern at the intended destination airport. The airplane impacted an unoccupied residential structure about 1 mile south-southwest of the airport. The airplane sustained damage to the fuselage and both wings.)
7/30 1133Z (0433 local Sunday morning): Three aboard a Be35 were killed, and the Bonanza was “destroyed,” when the pilot “lost control during departure” and the airplane “crashed into a hangar” at Upland, California. N8572M (D-7217) was a 1963 P35 registered in Alta Loma, California.
(“Loss of control during initial climb”; “Fatal”; “Aircraft destroyed”; “Night”)
7/20 2220Z (1520 local Sunday afternoon): A Be35 “crashed in a field;d due to engine issues” at Brandon, Mississippi. The solo pilot reports no injury; airplane damage is “unknown”. N35AB (D-6067) is a 1959 K35 registered in Rimrock, Arizona.
(“Engine failure in flight”)
7/28 1513Z (0913 local Friday morning): The pilot of a Be36 “declared [an] emergency [due to] smoke in the cockpit and landed on a road” at Casper, Wyoming. The lone pilot was unhurt and there was no additional damage to the aircraft reported. N365HP (E-1756) is a 1980 A36 registered in San Francisco, California.
(“Cockpit fire in flight/off-airport landing”)
7/30 2248Z (1648 local Sunday afternoon): A passenger in a Be23 received “serious” injuries, while the pilot and another passenger had “minor” injuries, when the airplane “struck a tree during departure” and “came to rest in [a] lake” at Coolin, Idaho. The airplane has “substantial” damage. N2362Z (M-76) is a 1962 Model 23 Musketeer registered in Moscow, Idaho.
(“Collision with obstacle during initial climb”; “Serious injuries”; “Substantial damage”–high density altitude was reportedly a factor according to local witness comments made online).
New NTSB reports this week
7/7 double-fatality A36 loss of control in flight at Rayville, Louisiana. From the report:
A witness stated that she was asleep and was woken by a ‘helicopter sound’. The sound “immediately stopped” when there was a “bump” that “shook” the house, which she thought was thunder. She said the helicopter sound was a “whirly sound.” She said that her daughter looked at a phone and the time of the bump/shake.
The airplane was about 1 nm south of John H Hooks Jr Memorial Airport, Rayville, Louisiana. The airplane’s tail to nose heading was about 268 [degrees]. Ground scarring and airplane damage was consistent with a nose-down, high-speed impact.
All components of the airplane were at the accident site. The main landing gear was in the extended position. The wing flaps were in the retracted position. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the control surfaces to the cockpit. The left and right elevator trim tabs were relatively neutral to that of their elevators.
Change “Crash/Unknown” to “Loss of control in flight/vertical impact.”)
7/8 “serious injuries” P35 engine failure in the traffic pattern and offshore ditchingat Shelter Cove, California. From the report:
According to the pilot, the engine started to run rough and he experienced a partial loss of engine power between the end of the downwind leg and his turn to the base leg of the traffic pattern. The airplane was about 800 ft mean sea level at this time when it started to descend. The pilot pitched the airplane for best glide and performed emergency procedures from memory, which included verifying the mixture control was full rich and set the throttle to full power. The pilot switched fuel tanks and engaged the auxiliary fuel pump, which resulted in less engine roughness, but the engine was still operating at low power. At this point the pilot
determined he would not reach the runway and retracted the landing gear to prepare for a water landing. The airplane impacted the Pacific Ocean and the pilot and passenger egressed before the airplane became fully submerged.
Add “Serious injuries”; change “Ditched into ocean during attempted landing” to “Engine failure on approach/landing.”)7/35 H35 engine failure in the traffic pattern and collision with an unoccupied apartment building at Georgetown, Texas, cited above.
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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 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.
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This concludes the Piston Beechcraft Accidents 7/20/2022 – 8/2/2023