Beech Piston Airplane Weekly Accident Update

Beechcraft Piston Aircraft Accidents posted 11/12/2009 through 11/18/2009

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.

©2009 Mastery Flight Training, Inc.  All Rights Reserved

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.

NEW FAA REPORTS THIS WEEK

11/10 2300Z (1700 local):  During a “training” flight at David Wayne Hooks Airport, Houston, Texas, the pilot of a Be76 “aborted landing after hearing metal scrape on the runway.  The aircraft then went around and [the pilot] put the landing gear down for the next landing.”  Pilot and passenger were not hurt and airplane damage is “minor”.  Weather was 1100 scattered, 4900 broken, visibility seven miles with a four-knot wind.  N6002C (ME-120) is a 1978 Duchess registered since 2004 to a Wilmington, Delaware corporation.

(“Gear up landing”; “Dual instruction”—is powering up and going around the best course of action on noting you’ve made runway contact with the landing gear up?  Or is it better to bite the bullet, chop the throttles and accept the gear-up?)

11/11 0136Z (1736 local):  A Be33 “Landed short of the runway” at the Chico Airport, Chico, California.  Three aboard escaped injury despite “substantial” airplane damage.  Weather was 18,000 overcast, visibility 10 miles with calm winds.  N9617Y (CD-583) is/was a 1962 35-B33 registered since 1998 in a co-ownership based in Bellingham, Washington.

(“Engine failure on approach” [more momentarily]; “Substantial damage”—a reader called to report the pilot said he was on a practice ILS approach when the engine failed and the airplane touched down in the runway’s approach lights.  A press account also mentions engine failure, and note there was a fuel leak, possibly ruling out fuel exhaustion.  Other online news shows a picture of the downed airplane with evidence of a small fuel leak.  Notably, the photo shows fairly extensive nose, cabin and wing leading edge damage…and yet the airplane’s occupants walked away essentially unharmed.  Contrast this with last week’s image of a benign-looking Baron mishap that resulted in serious pilot injuries—I do not have definitive information, but this seems to indicate the value of shoulder harnesses, as I can’t see how the passengers of the Debonair could have escaped head trauma without them.)

11/12 2208Z (1708 local):  A Be58’s nose gear collapsed on takeoff at Columbus, Georgia.  Four aboard the Baron were not hurt and damage is considered “minor”.  Weather was “not reported.”  N17529 (TH-796) is a 1977 Baron 58 recently (August 2009) registered to a Wilmington, Delaware corporation.

(“Gear collapse on takeoff”; “Recent registration”—often the result of bent or broken pushrods or rod ends, or insufficient nose gear down tensions that do not adequately resist the push-back of friction against the nosewheel while on the runway.  All are common squawks on annual and type-club inspections; history shows owners of Beechcraft should not skimp on landing gear maintenance and rigging checks, including adherence to factory-recommended inspection and overhaul schedules for this critical and non-redundant system.)   

11/13 2245Z (1545 local):  A Be35’s gear collapsed on landing at Brighton, Colorado.  The solo pilot was not injured and airplane damage is “minor”.  Weather: “not reported”.  N9529R (D-6159) is a 1959 K35 registered since 1993 to an individual in Brighton.

(“Gear collapse on landing”)

11/14 0510Z (0010 local):  “On taxi,” a Be58 “struck a light at Washington Dulles Airport, Chantilly, Virginia.”  The solo pilot was unhurt despite “substantial” aircraft damage.  Weather was 1300 broken, 2200 overcast, visibility 10 miles with calm winds.  N96WE (TH-1782) is a 1996 Baron 58 registered since 2007 to a corporation in Reading, Pennsylvania.

(“Taxied into obstacle”; “Substantial damage”; “Night”)

11/15 0015Z (1615 local):  On takeoff from San Gabriel, California, a Be36 “struck a building.”  The solo pilot was killed and the A36 “destroyed” in a post-crash fire.  Weather was “few clouds” at 6000, visibility 20 miles with an eight-knot surface wind.  N17803 (E-1031) was a 1977 A36 registered since 2002 to an individual in Grants Pass, Oregon.    

(“Takeoff/unknown”; “Fatal”; “Airplane destroyed”—a news photo shows the massive extent of fire damage and suggests the pilot skillfully avoided injuring persons on the ground.  Online photos of the accident airplane taken earlier on the day of the crash confirm the Bonanza had been converted with a Lycoming TSIO-540 engine under the Machen STC, diverting suggestions this may be related to this week’s emergency grounding Airworthiness Directive affecting some Teledyne Continental Motors engines.  Given the cowling was still in zinc chromate primer, it may have been a recent modification.)

11/15 2141Z (1541 local):  A Be35 landed gear up at Addison, Texas.  Two aboard were not hurt and damage was “minor”.  Weather was 4200 scattered, 6000 scattered, 6500 broken, visibility 10 with surface winds at seven knots.  N4452D (D-4593) is a 1956 G35 registered since 1998 to a Plano, Texas corporation.

(“Gear up landing”)

UPDATES FROM NTSB

Events previously appearing in the Weekly Accident Update:

**11/8 triple-fatality A36 crash near Spring Branch, TX.  The NTSB confirms the airplane broke up in flight while the pilot was attempting to deviate around “an area of heavy rain” that was reported by pilot-witnesses in the local media as being “storms overhead.”**

SUMMARY: Reported Hawker Beechcraft piston mishaps, year-to-date 2009:

Total reported:  158 reports 

Operation in VMC: 112 reports   

Operation in IMC:    4 reports  

Weather “unknown” or “not reported”:  42 reports

Operation at night:  13 reports 

Surface wind > 15 knots:  16 reports          

Fatal accidents: 19 reports  

“Serious” injury accidents (not involving fatalities): 6 reports 

“Substantial” damage: 63 reports  

Aircraft “destroyed”:   17 reports  

Recent registration (within previous 12 months):  23 reports  

(Note: FAA preliminary reports no longer identify the purpose of the flight involved in mishap.  Consequently the number and percentage of Beech mishaps that occur during dual instruction will become less and less accurate over time.  Since the late 1990s the percentage of Beech mishaps that take place during dual flight instruction has remained very consistently about 10%). 

By Aircraft Type:

Be36 Bonanza   44 reports 

Be35 Bonanza   40 reports

Be33 Debonair/Bonanza 18 reports

Be55 Baron  10 reports

Be58 Baron  10 reports   

Be24 Sierra  9 reports

Be76 Duchess  7 reports

Be18 Twin Beech   5 reports

Be19 Sport  5 reports

Be60 Duke   3 reports

Be17 Staggerwing   2 reports

Be23 Musketeer/Sundowner  2 reports

Be50 Twin Bonanza  1 report

Be56 Turbo Baron   1 report

Be77 Skipper   1 report

Be95 Travel Air   1 report

PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION OF CAUSE (all subject to update per NTSB findings):

LANDING GEAR-RELATED MISHAPS (63 reports) 

Gear up landing

25 reports (two Be24s; two Be33s; eleven Be35s; seven Be36s; Be50; Be56; Be76)

Gear collapse (landing)

20 reports (two Be24s; four Be33s; four Be35s; two Be36s; four Be55s; two Be58s; two Be76s)

Failure of landing gear to extend due to mechanical failure

4 reports (Be24; Be33; Be58; Be60)

Gear collapse during taxi

3 reports (Be24; Be36; Be76)

Gear collapse on takeoff

3 reports (Be24; Be35; Be58)

Gear collapse on landing following electrical failure

2 reports (Be35; Be36)

Gear collapse—retract rod failure after improper installation

1 report (Be36)

Wheel failure/separation

1 report (Be33)

Gear collapse on landing—pilot-induced retraction on the runway

1 report (Be35)

Gear collapse on takeoff—touch and go

1 report (Be36)

Gear collapse—retract rod bearing separation

1 report (Be55)

Tailwheel failure

1 report (Be18)

...for more on Landing Gear-Related Mishaps see these data and this commentary. 

ENGINE FAILURE   (33 reports) 

Engine failure in flight

11 reports (Be18; two Be19s; Be33; three Be35s; three Be36s; Be55)

Engine failure on takeoff

6 reports (Be33; three Be35s; Be36; Be55)

Fuel starvation

4 reports (Be33; three Be36s)

Fuel exhaustion

2 reports (Be35; Be60)

...for more on fuel management-related mishaps see www.thomaspturner.net/Fuel.htm.

Piston/cylinder failure in flight

3 reports (two Be35s; Be36)

Engine failure on approach

2 report s(both Be33s)

Loss of oil pressure

1 report (Be24)

Engine failure in the traffic pattern

1 report (Be33)

Catastrophic oil loss

1 report (Be35)

Fuel starvation—fuel cap O-ring failure

1 report (Be36)

Loss of turbo boost—induction manifold failure

1 report (Be58)

IMPACT ON LANDING  (25 reports) 

Loss of directional control on landing

6 reports (Be18; Be19; Be35; Be36; Be58; Be76)

Landed long—runway overrun

3 reports (Be17; Be33; Be36)

Collision with animal on landing

3 reports (two Be36s; Be58)

Hard landing

3 reports (Be19; Be35; Be36)

Landed short

2 reports (Be35; Be36)

Wingtip contact with the runway

2 reports (Be58; Be77)

Loss of directional control on landing—strong, gusty wind

1 report (Be17)

Hard landing—airframe ice

1 report (Be58)

Hard landing—simulated engine failure on takeoff (twin-engine airplane)

1 report (Be58)

Hard landing—landing gear collapse (fixed gear)

1 report (Be19)

Loss of directional control on go-around/fuel imbalance

1 report (Be35)

Go-around/failed to clear obstacles

1 report (Be58)

Propeller strike on landing

1 report (Be76)

MISCELLANEOUS  (12 reports)

Taxied into obstacle

3 reports(Be35; Be36; Be58)

Wheel/strut failure on landing—fixed gear airplane

1 report (Be23)

Unattended airplane with engine running taxis into obstruction

1 report (Be36)

Windscreen separation in flight

1 report (Be35)

Runway overrun—high-speed taxi test

1 report (Be60)

Unoccupied aircraft rolled into parked airplanes

1 report (Be36)

Struck by taxiing aircraft

1 report (Be35)

Cowling open in flight

1 report (Be33)

Tire blown on landing

1 report (Be36)

In-flight breakup: thunderstorm penetration

1 report (Be36)

CAUSE UNKNOWN  (10 reports)  

Takeoff/Unknown

4 reports (Be19; Be35; Be36; Be95)

Crash/unknown

3 reports (Be33; Be35; Be36)

Go-around/unknown

2 reports (Be24; Be35)

Landing/unknown

1 reports (Be76)

IMPACT WITH OBJECT DURING TAKEOFF   (6 reports) 

Loss of directional control during takeoff—strong, gusty wind

2 reports (Be35; Be55)

Runway overrun during attempted aborted takeoff

1 report (Be35)

Loss of directional control on takeoff—touch and go

1 report (Be23)

Runway overrun—failure to attain climb

1 report (Be36)

Loss of control authority on takeoff

1 report (Be36)

STALL/SPIN  (5 reports)

Stall on final approach

2 reports (Be33; Be36)

Stall/spin on approach

1 report (Be18)

Stall/loss of control during go-around

1 report (Be55)

Stall/spin during attempted aerobatics

1 report (Be55)

CONTROLLED FLIGHT INTO TERRAIN   (4 reports)

Airframe ice in cruise—unable to maintain altitude

1 report (Be36)

Attempted visual flight into IMC

2 reports (both Be36s)

Collision with tower during low-altitude maneuvering

1 report (Be18)

LOSS OF CONTROL IN FLIGHT   (1 report) 

Loss of control: Attempted visual departure in IMC

1 report (Be36)

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.  Fly safe, and have fun!

Thomas P. Turner, M.S. Aviation Safety, Master CFI

2008 FAA Central Region CFI of the Year

Mastery Flight Training, Inc.

mastery.flight.training@cox.net

There's much more aviation safety information at www.thomaspturner.net.