- Date
- January 19, 1991, 17:37 local (23:37 UTC)
- Place
- Lafayette, TN
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N99RNBeech K35
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 17, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910119000769A
- Case key
- 8306
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Partial loss of engine for an undetermined reason. The adverse weather conditions, darkness, and radio tower were related factors.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During an IFR flt at night, the plt encountered light rime icing conditions and was cleared to dscnd from 7000 ft to 5000 ft MSL. About 14 min later, he rprtd that an eng power loss had occurred and that he was unable to maintain altitude. While being vectored to a nearby arpt, the acft collided with a 112 ft ham radio tower, about 60 ft AGL, then crashed. Witnesses rprtd the eng was at idle power during impact. During an investigation of the acdnt, no preimpact part failure, fuel contamination or verification of structural ice was found. The ham radio tower was not equipped with an identification light, nor was there a requirement for it to be lighted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N99RN
- Reported as
- Beech K35
- Category
- Airplane
- Airframe hours
- 4
- Engine
- Continental IO-470-C, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Laurel Leasing, Inc.
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 22, 1990 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- PWK · Wheeling, IL
- Destination
- CHA · Chattanooga, TN
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- 3M7 · Lafayette Muni
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,970 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- BNA, 39 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.