- Date
- November 10, 1985, 17:20 local (Nov 11, 1985, 01:20 UTC)
- Place
- Avenal, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N50CNBeech 35
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19851110076069A
- Case key
- 24880
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 plt received a weather briefing (twice) and was advised each time that VFR flt along his route was not recommended. A witness observed the acft flying at a low alt below a cloud layer, when it made an abrupt left descending turn and crashed in a field. Another witness was driving on I-5 and observed the acft pass overhead at 300 to 400 ft AGL below the clouds, and a short time later saw a ball of flames next to the hwy.l of flames next to the highway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N50CN
- Reported as
- Beech 35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D243
- Airframe hours
- 5,679
- Engine
- Continental E-185-8, 185 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Melvin M. Banton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 20, 1985 · 32 hours before
- Departed
- MAI · Madera, CA
- Destination
- GUP · Gallup, NM
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 5,400 total · 4,000 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- NLC, 17 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.