- Date
- April 18, 1991, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Vernon Hills, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N123JBBeech 35-A33
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910418021899A
- Case key
- 14823
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
Water contamination of the fuel, and the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection.
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 pilot departed on a maintenance check flight after the engine was overhauled. About 30 minutes into the flight, the engine lost power, and the pilot made an off-airport forced landing. On inspection, water was drained from the main fuel tank(s). The pilot report that he had drained the aux fuel tanks, but not the main tanks.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N123JB
- Reported as
- Beech 35-A33
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- CD313
- Airframe hours
- 2,463
- Engine
- Continental I0-470-K, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- G & N Aircraft, doing business as Great Northern Aircraft
- Registered owner
- Dr. Bernard L. Abrams
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 16, 1991 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- O5C · Griffith, IN
- Destination
- C52 · Burlington, WI
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
- 28
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,670 total · 15 in this make and model · 1,378 as pilot in command · 315 in the last 90 days · 67 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 45° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
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 N123JB · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.