# Accident 19980525010559A: Beech A36, Newport, RI, May 25, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 25, 1998, 15:01 local time
- Place: Newport, RI
- Airport: Newport State Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.5456° N, 71.2734° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.5456&lon=-71.2734&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4507S, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4507S-1999-01-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech A36 (registry code 1151604, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-a36) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH A36
- Reported engine: CONT IO520BA
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 750 total, 373 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98FA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA112) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980525010559A

## Narrative

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

ACFT CRASHED DUE TO INFLIGHT BREAK UP, 2 POB SUFFERED FATAL INJ, ACFT WAS DESTROYED. MIDDLETOWN, RI.(.4) AT 6,000 FEET, THE INSTRUMENT-RATED PILOT REPORTED AN ENGINE FAILURE, AND RECEIVED VECTORS TO AN AIRPORT. AFTER THE TURN, THE AIRPLANE WAS 6 NAUTICAL MILES AWAY, AT 4,000 FEET. AFTER DESCENDING THROUGH CLOUDS, THE PILOT REPORTED, AT 1,200 FEET, THE AIRPORT IN SIGHT. THE AIRPLANE THEN DESCENDED RAPIDLY, STRAIGHT AHEAD, AND HIT THE GROUND UPRIGHT, ABOUT 1/2 MILE SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT WAS AT THE FAR END OF A PASTURE, WHICH EXTENDED OFF TO THE PILOT'S RIGHT. THE AIRPLANE THEN BOUNCED AND COLLIDED WITH A STONE WALL. WITNESSES THOUGHT THE AIRPLANE WOULD MAKE THE RUNWAY, BUT IT APPEARED TO LEVEL OFF, CLIMB SLIGHTLY, THEN FALL FORWARD. THE STALL WARNING HORN SOUNDED UPON EXITING THE CLOUDS, AND REMAINED ON UNTIL IMPACT. THE LANDING GEAR WAS IN TRANSIT AT IMPACT. RADAR REVEALED A GROUNDSPEED OF 81 KNOTS AT 1,200 FEET, WHICH DECREASED TO 62 KNOTS BY 400 FEET. THE OPERATING HANDBOOK STATED THAT POWER OFF, 81 KNOTS WERE REQUIRED TO ASSURE CONTROLLABILITY DURING THE FLARE. THE ENGINE CRANKSHAFT WAS FOUND BROKEN IN TWO PLACES. THE NUMBER TWO BEARING WAS POUNDED, AND H AD MOVED IN ITS SADDLE. SADDLE OIL LUBRICATION HOLES WERE BLOCKED BY METAL, AND THE CRANKSHAFT EXHIBITED LADDER CRACKING. (-23) ENGINE FAILURE ON IFR FIT.  ATC ATTEMPTED TO VECTOR AIRCRAFT BO UUU.  AIRCRAFT UNABLE TO MAKE RUNWAY, ATTEMPTING LANDING IN FIELD.  CONTACTED GROUND, STRUCK A SMALL ROCK FENCE, HIT A TREE WITH THE RIGHT WING AND FIRE ERUPTED.  BOTH MIDDLE SEAT PASSENGERS WERE ABLE TO ESCAPE.  THE PILOT AND FRONT SEAT PASSENGER WERE FATALITIES.

## 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 NYC98FA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA112), May 25, 1998: Beech A36 (N4507S), Middletown, RI, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The shift of the number 2 engine bearing, which in turn blocked oil lubrication, and resulted in crankshaft failure. Also causal, was the pilot's decision to continue toward the airport instead of…

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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