Piston Beechcraft Accidents April 9 through April 15, 2026
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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New Reports this Week
4/8 1422Z (0922 local Wednesday morning): A Be33 “experienced engine issues” and its pilot “made an emergency landing in a field” at Savannah, Tennessee. The three aboard were unhurt and airplane damage is “unknown.” N1913L (CE-656) is a 1976 F33A.
(“Engine failure in flight”—photos show the pilot made a wheels-up landing in a plowed field and airplane damage appears minor. The Aviation Safety Network adds:
Engine failure in cruise at 4500 [feet]. Intentional gear up landing in a field. Aircraft [skidded] 181.5 feet to a stop with very little damage. All three occupants exited easily and went to breakfast at a local restaurant.
Well done).
4/11 1630Z (1230 local Saturday afternoon): A Be58 landed gear up at Stevensville, Maryland. The solo pilot was unhurt despite “substantial” damage to the Baron. N38020 (TH-1208) is a 1980 Baron 58.
(“Gear up landing”; “Substantial damage”)
4/13 1755Z (1355 local Monday afternoon): Two aboard a Be58 perished, and the Baron was “destroyed” in a “post-crash fire,” after it crashed “under unknown circumstances” at New Market, Tennessee. N2063G (TH-1002) was a 1979 Baron 58.
(“Loss of control in flight/multiengine instruction” [more momentarily]; “Fatal”; “Airplane destroyed”—the flight was reportedly a dual instruction session with a 73-year-old “rusty” pilot returning to flying status. ASN adds:
Preliminary ADS-B data review shows that the airplane was engaged (in what appears to be) several stall entries after the autopilot was turned off after a touch-and-go from Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport (GKT/KGKT), Sevierville, Tennessee. Towards the end of the track, the airplane entered a rapid descent from 4,000 ft, with exceptionally low groundspeed values and a vertical rate exceeding -9000 feet per minute. The wreckage was highly fragmented, and there was no debris field leading to the main wreckage, which consisted of remains from the fuselage, both wings and tail.)
NTSB Preliminary Reports
3/21 V35B loss of directional control during landing at Saluda, South Carolina. The three aboard are now reported to have “minor” injuries, the weather is confirmed to be VFR with light winds, and the airplane suffered “substantial” damage. A FLYING LESSONS reader reports the airplane has been “totaled” and sent me a photo of the remains in an aircraft salvage yard, so I’ll record this as “destroyed.”
2026 SUMMARY
Reported Beechcraft piston mishaps, 2026
Total reported: 35 reports
BONANZA/BARON Series: 29 reports
By Model
Be35 Bonanza 10 reports
Be36 Bonanza 8 reports
Be58 Baron 6 reports
Be33 Debonair/Bonanza 5 reports
Environment
Operation in VMC: 18 reports
Operation in IMC: 2 reports
Weather “unknown” or “not reported”: 9 reports
Operation at night: 1 report
Most Serious Injury
“Serious” injury accidents (not involving fatalities): 0 reports
Fatal accidents: 5 reports
Aircraft damage
“Substantial” damage: 7 reports
Aircraft “destroyed”: 4 reports
PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION OF CAUSE
(all subject to update per official findings):
FATAL and SERIOUS INJURY EVENTS 5 reports
Loss of control in flight (LOC-I) 3 reports
Loss of control in IMC 1 report (Be36)
Loss of control during an instrument approach in IMC 1 report (Be36)
Loss of control in flight/multiengine instruction 1 report (Be58)
Engine failure
Catastrophic engine failure in flight 1 report (Be36)
Unknown 1 report
Crash/unknown 1 report (Be36)
OTHER EVENTS 24 reports
Landing gear related mishaps 12 reports
Gear up landing 6 reports (Be33; three Be35s; two Be58s)
Gear collapse during landing 5 reports (Be33; Be35; two Be36s; Be58)
Gear collapse during landing/electrical failure in flight 1 report (Be35)
Engine failure 6 reports
Engine failure in flight 4 reports (three Be33s; Be36)
Engine failure immediately after takeoff 1 report (Be35)
Propeller separation in flight 1 report (Be58)
Impact during landing 4 reports
Loss of directional control during landing 2 reports (Be35; Be36)
Runway overrun 1 report (Be58)
Collision with an airplane that pulled on onto runway 1 report (Be35)
Impact during takeoff 2 reports
Stall immediately after takeoff 1 report (Be35)
Takeoff/unknown 1 report (Be35)
BEECH AERO CLUB Series: 5 reports
Skipper, Musketeer, Sundowner, Sierra, Duchess
By Model
Be76 Duchess 2 reports
Be19 Sport 1 report
Be23 Musketeer, Sundowner 1 report
Be24 Sierra 1 report
Environment
Operation in VMC: 4 reports
Operation in IMC: 0 reports
Weather “unknown” or “not reported”: 1 report
Operation at night: 0 reports
Most Serious Injury
“Serious” injury accidents (not involving fatalities): 0 reports
Fatal accidents: 0 reports
Aircraft damage
“Substantial” damage: 3 reports
Aircraft “destroyed”: 0 reports
FATAL and SERIOUS INJURY EVENTS 0 reports
OTHER EVENTS 5 reports
Impact during landing 3 reports
Loss of directional control during landing 1 report (Be23)
Loss of directional control during landing/Simulated single-engine landing 1 report (Be76)
Hard landing 1 report (Be19)
Landing gear related mishaps 1 report
Gear up landing 1 report (Be76)
Engine failure 1 report
Engine failure in flight/attempted single-engine landing 1 report (Be76)
MISCELLANEOUS Models: 1 report
Staggerwing, Twin Beech, Twin Bonanza, Duke, Queen Air
By Model
Be60 Duke 1 report
Environment
Operation in VMC: 1 report
Operation in IMC: 0 reports
Weather “unknown” or “not reported”: 0 reports
Operation at night: 0 reports
Most Serious Injury
“Serious” injury accidents (not involving fatalities): 0 reports
Fatal accidents: 0 reports
Aircraft damage
“Substantial” damage: 0 reports
Aircraft “destroyed”: 0 reports
FATAL and SERIOUS INJURY EVENTS 0 reports
OTHER EVENTS 1 report
Impact during landing 1 report
Collision with wires during landing (Be60)
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Recognize an N-number? Want to check on friends or family that may have been involved in a cited mishap? Click here to find the registered owner. Please accept my sincere personal condolences if you or anyone you know was involved in a mishap. I welcome your comments, suggestions and criticisms.