- Date
- June 30, 2003, 13:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Douglass, KS
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N564BBeech A35
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Wichita FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030630013799A
- Case key
- 57346
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
The pilot's failure to attain adequate airspeed and his premature liftoff, which resulted in a stall. A factor to the accident was the tree.
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
The airplane was substantially damage when it impacted trees during an aborted takeoff. The pilot reported that while taxing he "flipped [the] switch with [the] intentions of putting flaps down." According to the pilot, while on takeoff roll the airplane lifted off and stalled. The pilot reported that he lowered the nose and when the airplane settled it was out of control. The airplane subsequently struck a tree and large rock. The pilot stated, "... After that accident I noticed that the flaps switch was in the up position. Thus, I rotated off the ground with insufficient airspeed for plane configuration to sustain flight."
Factual narrative
On June 30, 2003, about 1345 central daylight time, a Beech A35, N564B, operated by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it stalled and impacted terrain during takeoff from Pilot Pointe Estates Airport, near Douglass, Kansas. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 at the time of the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot reported no injuries and his passenger reported minor injuries. The personnel flight was originating from Pilot Pointe Estates Airport at the time of the accident and was destined for Ephraim-Fish Creek Airport, near Ephraim, Wisconsin.
According to a statement by the pilot, while taxing to runway 36 he "flipped [the] flap switch with [the] intentions of putting flaps down." The pilot said that he attempted, during takeoff roll, to lift off the runway but the airplane stalled immediately. He stated that he "pushed the yoke forward in an attempt to recover from the stall." He said that the airplane settled back down to the runway and was still "out of control when the right wing clipped a tree at the end and side of the runway." The pilot reported, that after the impact the right wing was severed and the airplane made a 120-degree loop. According to the pilot, the airplane struck a large boulder damaging the tail of the airplane. The pilot stated, "... After the accident I noticed that the flaps switch was in the up position. Thus, I rotated off the ground with insufficient airspeed for plane configuration to sustain flight."
The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N564B
- Reported as
- Beech A35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-1584
- Airframe hours
- 2,527.15
- Engine
- Teledyne Continental E-185-8, 185 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dennis Roy Knackstedt
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 16, 2002 · 44.8 hours before
- Departed
- SN52 · Douglass, KS
- Destination
- 3D2 · Ephriam, WI
- Airport
- SN52 · Pilot Point, runway 36, 2,700 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 150 total · 61 in this make and model · 134 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,300 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- KIAB, 16 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.
Other investigations on N564B · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.