# Accident 20020629024459A: Beech C35BEECH, Sanders, AZ, June 29, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 29, 2002, 21:24 local time
- Place: Sanders, AZ
- Damage: Destroyed
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.8733° N, 109.3275° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.8733&lon=-109.3275&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5856C, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5856C-2005-03-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech C35 (registry code 1151508, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-c35) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental E185 series (registry code 17014, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-e185-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH C35BEECH
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX02FA210](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02FA210) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020629024459A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON JUNE 29, 2002, ABOUT 2124 HOURS MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A BEECH C35, N5856C, EXPERIENCED AN IN-FLIGHT BREAKUP AND UNCONTROLLED DESCENT FOLLOWING A DEPARTURE FROM CRUISE FLIGHT ABOUT 20 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTH OF CHAMBERS, ARIZONA. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED DESERT TERRAIN AND WAS DESTROYED. THE COMMERICAL PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED IN THE VICINITY, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE NIGHTTIME PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS PERFORMED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM NEAR ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR EARLIER. ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION'S (FAA) QUALITY ASSURANCE STAFF AT THE ALBUQUERQUE AIR ROUTE TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER (ARTCC), THE PILOT HAD REQUESTED AND WAS RECEIVING RADAR FLIGHT FOLLOWING SERVICES DURING HIS FLIGHT. THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE WAS INITIALLY RADAR IDENTIFIED ABOUT 9 NM SOUTHWEST OF THE DOUBLE EAGLE II (UNCONTROLLED) AIRPORT, NEW MEXICO. AT THE TIME, THE AIRPLANE WAS CLIMBING THROUGH 8,400 FEET. THE RADAR TRACK CONTINUED AND INDICATED THAT THE AIRPLANE PROCEEDED WHILE CLIMBING IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION. AT NO TIME DURING THE FLIGHT DID THE PILOT INDICATE HE WAS EXPERIENCING ANY DIFFICULTIES OR REQUEST ASSISTANCE. RADAR CONTACT WITH THE AIRPLANE WAS LOST AT 2123:27, SECONDS AFTER IT VEERED LEFT OFF ITS WESTERLY COURSE AT 11,000 FEET. THE AIRPLANE'S LAST KNOWN POSITION (LKP) WAS 34 DEGREES 52 MINUTES 58 SECONDS NORTH LATITUDE BY 109 DEGREES 20 MINUTES 25 SECONDS WEST LONGITUDE. THEREAFTER, FOUR PRIMARY RADAR HITS WERE RECORDED WITHIN A MILE OF THE LKP. THE MAIN WRECKAGE WAS FOUND ON FLAT, DESERT TERRAIN, ELEVATION 6,200 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL, ABOUT 0.85 NM SOUTHEAST OF THE LKP. COMPONENTS FROM THE FRAGMENTED RIGHT WING AND FRAGMENTED RIGHT RUDDERVATOR/STABILIZER WERE LOCATED NEAR THE NORTHERN END OF 1,650-FOOT-LONG WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION PATH. THE MAIN WRECKAGE, CONSISTING OF THE FUSELAGE AND ITS ATTACHED LEFT WING, WAS LOCATED NEAR THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE DISTRIBUTION PATH. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF FIRE.

## 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 LAX02FA210](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02FA210), Jun 30, 2002: Beech C35 (N5856C), Chambers, AZ, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's loss of airplane control after falling asleep due to fatigue, which resulted in a structural failure of the airframe during a high speed descent after the design stress limits of the…

## Other reports on N5856C (1)

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

- [Incident 19920612026069I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19920612026069I), Jun 12, 1992: Beech 35BEECH (N5856C), Buckeye, AZ, Minor damage. Student inadvertently retracted gear instead of flaps on a touch and go landing. Gear collapsed.

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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