- Date
- March 9, 2025, 22:15 local (Mar 10, 2025, 03:15 UTC)
- Place
- Rochester, MN
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4784JBeech A23-19
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250309002459A
- Case key
- 199824
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Preliminary report
What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.
On March 9, 2025, about 2215 central daylight time, a Beech A23-19, N4784J, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Rochester, Minnesota. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that during the initial climb, about 650 ft above ground level, the engine had a complete loss of power. He stated that the engine did not sputter, and he heard a “click click” sound before the engine lost power. The pilot declared an emergency and attempted to restart the engine before executing a forced landing. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted trees which resulted in substantial damage to both wings, fuselage, and empennage. The airplane was retained for further examination.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4784J
- Reported as
- Beech A23-19
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- MB-220
- Built
- 1967
- Airframe hours
- 4,670
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Airlake Aero Inc
- Registered owner
- Airlake Aero Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 15, 2024 · 79 hours before
- Departed
- LVN · Lakeville, MN
- Destination
- RST · Rochester, MN
- Airport
- RST · Rochester International Airport
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 270° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Turbulence
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KRST, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KRST 090354Z 27009KT 10SM CLR 01/M02 A2995 RMK AO2 SLP155 T00111022=
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.