# Accident 20150404004689A: Beech V35B, AL, April 4, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 4, 2015, 20:25 local time
- Place: AL
- Airport: Wetumpka Municipal
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.5272° N, 86.3311° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.5272&lon=-86.3311&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9172Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9172Q-2018-04-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech V35B (registry code 1151548, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-v35b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH V35B
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 3,600 total, 2,200 in this make and model, 8 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA15CA176](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA15CA176) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150404004689A

## Narrative

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

AIRCRAFT WAS RETURNING FROM (GLS) TO HOME FIELD (08A) AND ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON RUNWAY 27 AT NIGHT, AT AN UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT.  PILOT STATED HE MADE 3 ATTEMPTS TO TURN ON RUNWAY LIGHTS WITH HIS RADIO, BUT HE STATED THE RADIO COULD HAVE BEEN ON THE WRONG FREQUENCY.  HE STARTED FINAL WHEN HE SAW WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS RUNWAY LIGHTS, BUT HE THOUGHT IT WAS ODD, BECAUSE LARGE AMOUNT OF LIGHTS WERE NOT OPERATING.  HE THEN SAW TREES HE COULD NOT AVOID AND REALIZED HE HAD MISTAKENLY LINED UP ON A ROW OF LIGHTS THAT WERE MOUNTED ATOP HANGARS THAT PARALLEL THE RUNWAY.   AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE TREES AND CAME TO REST 400 FEET PARALLEL TO THE RUNWAY.  PILOT WAS TRANSPORTED BY HEMS WITH SERIOUS INJURIES.  AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED.

## 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 ERA15CA176](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA15CA176), Apr 4, 2015: Beech V35B (N9172Q), Wetumpka, AL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's use of an incorrect radio frequency when attempting to turn on the runway lights, resulting is an attempt to land the airplane while aligned with airport hangar lights.

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.