# Accident 20011212035249A: Beech 95B55, Montgomery, AL, December 12, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 12, 2001, 16:10 local time - Place: Montgomery, AL - Airport: Dannelly Field - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 32.2858° N, 86.3669° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.2858&lon=-86.3669&mi=10 - Aircraft: N99DC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N99DC-2002-04-01) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Beech 95-B55 (registry code 1152705, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-95-b55) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental TIO-541 SERIE (registry code 17036, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tio-541-serie) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BEECH 95B55 - Reported engine: CONT IO470L - People aboard: 3 - Fatal injuries: 3 - Pilot flight hours: 7,700 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL02FA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02FA017) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20011212035249A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON DECEMBER 12, 2001, AT APPROXIMATELY 1610 CST, A BEECH BE-55, N99DC, PILOTED BY RALPH KIPER, OPERATING AS A 14 CFR PART 91 FLIGHT, CRASHED AFTER TAKEOFF FROM DANNELLY FIELD, MONTGOMERY REGIONAL AIRPORT (MGM). INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED TO SHREVEPORT DOWNTOWN AIRPORT (DTN). THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED BY POST CRASH FIRE AND THE PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS WERE FATALLY INJURED. SHORTLY PRIOR TO THE CRASH THE PILOT STATED HIS INTENTIONS TO RETURN TO THE FIELD BUT GAVE NO INDICATION AS TO WHY. ATC TOLD HIM HE COULD TURN TO THE RIGHT TO RETURN AND OFFERED VECTORS TO THE ILS APPROACH IF REQUIRED. THE PILOT SAID "NO WE'LL GO TO THE RIGHT". THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED APPROXIMATELY TWO MINUTES AFTER TAKEOFF IN A WOODED AREA APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE EAST OF THE AIRPORT AND ONE QUARTER MILE SOUTH OF THE EXTENDED CENTERLINE OF RUNWAY 10. THE RIGHT ENGINE PROP INDICATED THAT THE RIGHT ENGINE HAD EITHER LOW OR NO POWER AT IMPACT AND WAS NOT FEATHERED. THE LEFT PROP SHOWED SIGNS OF SCORING ON THE LEADING EDGE AND THE LEFT ENGINE APPEARED TO BE DELIVERING POWER AT IMPACT. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST IN A NEAR LEVEL ATTITUDE AND THE NEARBY TREESSHOWED EVIDENCE OF A STEEP TRAJECTORY TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH A STALL/SPIN ACCIDENT. NO INDICATION OF LOSS OF DIRECTIONAL CONTROL DUE TO ASYMMETRIC POWER WAS EVIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT HAD REFUELED PRIOR TO THE CRASH BUT THE FUEL WAS TESTED AND NO ABNORMALITIES WERE FOUND. SUBSEQUENT ENGINE TEAR DOWN ANALYSIS FAILED TO IDENTIFY A CAUSE FOR ANY LOSS OF POWER. (.4) THE PILOT DEPARTED MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, ON AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WITH A 700 FEET OVERCAST CEILING. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF THE PILOT INFORMED THE CONTROLLER, "WE ARE COMING BACK FOR A MINUTE." THE PILOT DID NOT STATE WHY. THE CONTROLLER ASKED THE PILOT TO SAY HIS REQUEST. THE PILOT STATED, "UH I'M GOING TO CIRCLE TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT EITHER ONE AND LAND AGAIN." THE CONTROLLER INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO CIRCLE TO THE RIGHT AND ASKED HIM IF HE HAD THE AIRPORT IN SIGHT AND IF HE WOULD LIKE VECTORS TO THE ILS. THE PILOT REPLIED, "NO WE'LL GO TO THE RIGHT." THERE WAS NO OTHER RECORDED RADIO COMMUNICATION WITH THE PILOT. REVIEW OF RADAR DATA REVEALED THE AIRPLANE WAS LAST OBSERVED AT 800 FEET WITH A DECREASE IN GROUNDSPEED. EXAMINATION OF THE CRASH SITE REVEALED THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN IN A VERTICAL DESCENT IN A SLIGHT RIGHT TURN. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF A CRASH DEBRIS LINE AT THE CRASH SITE. THE LOWER SURFACE OF THE WING SKIN DISPLAYED EVIDENCE OF UPWARD COMPRESSION. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF A PRE-CRASH MECHANICAL FAILURE OF THE AIRFRAME, FLIGHT CONTROLS, ENGINE ASSEMBLIES OR PROPELLERS. ## 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 ATL02FA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02FA017), Dec 12, 2001: Beech BE-55 (N99DC), Montgomery, AL, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilots failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering in instrument flight conditions resulting in an inadvertence stall/spin (vertical descent) and subsequent in-flight collision with trees and… ## Other reports on N99DC (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19910619063019I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19910619063019I), Jun 19, 1991: Beech 95B55 (N99DC), North Platte, NE. Left main tire blew on liftoff. Flew landing pattern and landed safely. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.