- Date
- June 6, 1999, 14:37 local (18:37 UTC)
- Place
- Boonville, NY
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N3191VBeech BE-35
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 3, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990606023959A
- Case key
- 46493
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 takeoff speed and his failure to maintain directional control.
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 with a tailwind and rotated at low airspeed. At liftoff, he lost directional control, the airplane drifted left, and struck two small trees along the left side of the runway. After colliding with the trees, the airplane rotated 180 degrees and came to rest upright facing opposite the direction of travel. The occupants escaped with minor injuries but a post crash fire consumed the airplane. The pilot reported there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane. He said, 'I took off the runway too slow and the torque just took over.'
Factual narrative
On June 6, 1999, at 1437 eastern daylight time, a Beech BE-35 Bonanza, N3191V, was substantially damaged during collision with trees and terrain after takeoff from the Boonville Incorporated Airport (1NK7), Boonville, New York. The airplane was destroyed in a post-crash fire. The certificated commercial pilot received minor injuries. The two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated at Boonville, destined for Carlisle, Pennsylvania. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In a telephone interview, the pilot stated:
"We had winds out of the south and the runway was oriented 13 and 31. It looked on the windsock like it was favoring 31, but it wasn't. I took it off the runway too slow and the torque just took over. I could feel it happening and I was wondering, 'What are you doing?' I thought as I gained airspeed, I would gain rudder control, which I did, but by that time I was off the side of the runway.
"I was just about half the width of the airplane off the side of the runway. I thought I was past the shrub on the right, but I wasn't. I put the right wing down on that side and I hit it. The wing hit the bush and pulled us around in almost a half circle. We ended up sliding backwards down the runway. The wing hit first, then the nose, then backwards. But that was the outcome, not the cause.
"Mechanically, everything was working great. I had 2,500 RPM, no problems there. It was a hot, gusty day with very poor lift performance. It just takes one instant to make a wrong decision, and away you go. When I taxied out I looked at the windsock and it looked like it favored 31. By the time it was all over, the winds were favoring 13."
The winds reported at Utica, New York, 20 miles southwest of Boonville were from 240 degrees at 5 knots.
The pilot reported approximately 4,500 hours of flight experience, 250 hours of which were in the BE-35.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3191V
- Reported as
- Beech BE-35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-627
- Airframe hours
- 5,530
- Engine
- Continental E-185-11, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Theodore L. Harwood
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 3, 1999 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- 1NK7
- Destination
- N94 · Carlisle, PA
- Airport
- 1NK7 · Boonville Inc Airport, runway 33, 2,800 × 100 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
- 72
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,459 total · 245 in this make and model · 4,268 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 13,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- UCA, 26 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 N3191V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.