# Accident 19980512008939A: Beech A36, Davis, WV, May 12, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 12, 1998, 10:57 local time
- Place: Davis, WV
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.1292° N, 79.4601° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.1292&lon=-79.4601&mi=10
- Aircraft: N72141, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N72141-2018-01-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech A36 (registry code 1151604, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-a36) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH A36
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Pilot flight hours: 1,500 total, 365 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD98FA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98FA054) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980512008939A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

INFLIGHT BREAKUP IFR ENROUTE IN AREA MODERATE MIXED ICING. DESIGN LOADS EXCEED IN DESCENDING SPIRAL OR SPIN. (.4) THE AIRPLANE WAS CRUISING ON A SOUTHERLY HEADING AT 13,000 FEET, IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, WHEN, OVER A 23-SECOND PERIOD, IT TURNED TOWARD THE WEST, DESCENDED ABOUT 1,200 FEET, THEN BROKE UP.  THE LAST 3-POINT SMOOTHED GROUND SPEED CALCULATION FOR THE AIRPLANE INDICATED 242 KNOTS.  WINDS ALOFT WERE FROM THE EAST, ABOUT 10 KNOTS.  THE AIRPLANE'S MAXIMUM OPERATING SPEED WAS 167 KNOTS INDICATED, AND MAXIMUM MANEUVERING SPEED WAS 141 KNOTS INDICATED.  AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE AIRPLANE WAS IN CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO ICING.  THE AIRFRAME ANTI-ICING SYSTEM WAS INOPERATIVE, AND IT WAS UNDETERMINED WHETHER THE ENGINE AND PITOT ICE PROTECTION SYSTEMS HAD BEEN ACTIVATED.  THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER AND THE WINGS EXHIBITED MARKINGS CONSISTENT WITH DOWNWARD OVERSTRESS SEPARATION.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM HAMILTON, ONTARIO, AND STOPPED AT BUFFALO, NEW YORK, BEFORE CONTINUING.  AN AIRMET, CALLING FOR ICING, WAS IN EFFECT, BUT NOT MENTIONED DURING                                                                                                                    THE ONTARIO WEATHER BRIEFING. IN BUFFALO, NO FLIGHT SERVICE STATION SERVICES WERE REQUESTED OR PROVIDED.  FLIGHT INTO ICING CONDITIONS IN THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANES WAS PROHIBITED, AND THE PROCEDURES WAS TO TURN BACK OR CHANGE ATTITUDE TO ESCAPE THE ICING.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB IAD98FA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98FA054), May 12, 1998: Beech A36 (N72141), Davis, WV, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's spatial disorientation, his subsequent loss of control of the airplane, and his overload of the horizontal stabilizer during a recovery attempt. Factors include the pilot's continued…

## Other reports on N72141 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19960810022239I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960810022239I), Aug 10, 1996: Beech A36 (N72141), Southern Pines, NC, Minor damage. Narrative: on August 10, 1996, at approximately 2300 EDT, a Beech A-36, N72141, piloted by Mr. Howard l. kidman, a private pilot with an instrument rating,…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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