BEECH M35 — Amery, WI, 2015 — GA Crash Analysis

BEECH M35 — Amery, WI

4 fatal Low altitude

Date	July 27, 2015
Location	Amery, WI
Aircraft	BEECH M35
Purpose of flight	Personal
Conditions	Day · Visual Meteorological Cond
Phase / occurrence	Maneuvering Loss of control in flight
Pilot age	44
Pilot total time	371 hrs · Building experience
Time in type	75 hrs
Fatalities	4

Probable cause

The pilot’s loss of airplane control while maneuvering with the airplane near its maximum gross weight, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and entering an aerodynamic stall.

NTSB findings

Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Maximum weight-Capability exceeded - C
Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained - C
Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C

What happened

The private pilot departed for a personal flight with three passengers in a single-engine airplane near its maximum takeoff weight. About 7 miles northeast of the departure airport, several witnesses noticed the airplane maneuvering. One witness described the airplane in a steep climb, then "making a circle, and then twisting" before dropping nose down and disappearing behind a tree line. Another witness reported seeing the airplane in a nose-down attitude with its wings rocking back and forth. Three other witnesses noticed the airplane spinning before impact. The airplane impacted an open wheat field with a nose-down attitude and low forward velocity, consistent with an aerodynamic stall. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.