# Accident 20160830017929A: Beech A36, Sparks, NV, August 30, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 30, 2016, 18:15 local time
- Place: Sparks, NV
- Airport: Reno Tahoe
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.5211° N, 119.7656° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.5211&lon=-119.7656&mi=10
- Aircraft: N985CA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N985CA-2017-12-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech A36 (registry code 1151604, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-a36) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH A36
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 11,100 total, 155 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR16FA172](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR16FA172) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160830017929A

## Narrative

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

N985CA WAS TURNING LEFT TO FINAL BASE AND PREPARING TO LAND ON RUNWAY 16L AND CRASHED .05 MILES NORTH OF RNO 16L.

INITIAL WITNESS REPORTS INDICATE THAT THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED UP AND ROLLED OVER TO THE LEFT THEN NOSED DOWNWARD INTO A RECREATIONAL VEHICLE TRAILER PARK (RIVERS EDGE RV PARK) ON ROCK BLVD, SPARKS, NV.

NO RV'S OR TRAILERS WERE STRUCK; HOWEVER, A POST-CRASH FIRE CONSUMED THE AIRCRAFT AND DAMAGED SEVERAL TRAILERS AND SEVERAL VEHICLES. NO INJURIES ON THE GROUND OCCURRED FROM THIS EVENT.

INITIAL AIR TRAFFIC RADAR PLOTS AND AUDIO FILES INDICATE THAT A FEDEX B-757, FLIGHT # 1359, HAD LANDED ON 16R, APPROXIMATELY 18 SECONDS PRIOR TO N985CA IMPACTING THE GROUND.

THE WRECKAGE WAS CONTAINED IN AN AREA CONSISTENT WITH A NOSE-DOWN, STRAIGHT-IN IMPACT. ONE OCCUPANT WAS OUTSIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT APPROXIMATELY 15-20 FEET IN FRONT OF THE IMPACT POINT, AND THE OTHER OCCUPANT WAS STILL INSIDE THE WRECKAGE.

## 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 WPR16FA172](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR16FA172), Aug 31, 2016: Beech A36 (N985CA), Sparks, NV, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's selection of a landing runway which, given the wind and traffic conditions, was susceptible to high crosswinds and the translation of wake turbulence across its approach path, and the…

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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