# NTSB MIA05FA130: Beech V35, N2056W, De Funiak Sprgs, FL, July 3, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Field investigation · Final report - Date: July 3, 2005, 12:11 local (17:11 UTC) - Place: De Funiak Sprgs, FL - Coordinates: 30.741111, -86.114997 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.7411&lon=-86.1150&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal, 1 minor - Status: Completed, report January 31, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Ratheon, FAA, Alabama FSDO, Teledyne Continental Motors - NTSB case key (mKey): 61905 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=MIA05FA130 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61905/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=61905 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA05FA130 ## Probable cause The loss of engine power during cruise flight for an undetermined reason, which resulted in an emergency descent and an in-flight collision with tress and terrain. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power, cruise - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - In flight collision with object, emergency descent/landing - object - tree(s) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - swampy ## Analysis The private pilot and his son were on an instrument flight rules personal cross-country flight in the pilot's airplane when the pilot reported a loss of engine power to air traffic control. He descended from his cruise altitude of 9000 feet msl, and attempted to reach an airport that the air traffic controller had directed him towards. He was unable to reach the airport, and stated that he was going to land on a roadway. He did not reach the roadway, and landed in a tree-covered swamp, colliding with several trees and coming to rest in a steep, nose-down attitude. There was the smell of fuel in the area, and both wing fuel tanks had been breached, allowing fuel to flow out of the tanks. Inspection of the airframe and engine disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical problems. The engine was removed to a test facility, and after minor repairs, was successfully run to full-rated rpm/horsepower. ## Factual narrative HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 3, 2005, about 1211 central daylight time, a Beech V35, N2056W, registered to the pilot and another owner, crashed into a swamp near De Funiak Springs, Florida, following a loss of engine power and an emergency descent. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight from Pearland Regional Airport, Houston, Texas, to Panama City-Bay County International Airport, Panama City, Florida. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the private certificated pilot was fatally injured. The sole passenger, the pilot's son, received minor injuries. The flight originated about 0842 central daylight time from Pearland Regional Airport. A review of the air route traffic control and approach control transcripts disclosed that the pilot reported no difficulties until approximately 1205, when he radioed to the Elgin Air Force Base approach controller: "I think we lost our engines, sir." When asked his intentions, the pilot reported that he was at 2,500 feet, and was looking for a place to land. The approach controller responded with an airport's location, De Funiak Springs, which he described as about 5 miles southwest of the pilot, and off his right wing. The pilot asked for a radar vector to fly to the airport, and the controller issued 270 degrees. At 1206, the pilot called the Elgin controller, and the controller says the airport is at his 12 o'clock position and asks if he's going to make it. The pilot says he has it in sight, but doesn't know if he can reach it. About a minute later, in his last transmission, the pilot radioed that he was going to try and set it down on a road to the right of him. The airplane did not reach the highway, and crashed in a tree-covered swamp, about 2 miles east of the De Funiak Springs Airport. The passenger stated to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Alabama Flight Standards District Office inspector who went to the crash site, that his father woke him up and advised him to put on his seatbelt and shoulder harness. His father also advised him that the engine was running rough. The passenger also said that his father was talking with someone on the radio, and then airplane was then in the trees. He next saw his father face down in mud, and he called 911 to summon help. Two witnesses related they saw an airplane appear overhead, flying low, with either the engine sputtering or idling. They saw it descend toward the swamp, and then sounds of impact. INJURIES TO PERSONS The pilot received fatal injuries, the passenger received minor injuries. There were no injuries to anyone on the ground. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot held a private pilot certificate with single engine land and instrument ratings. His total flight experience was approximately 320 hours, and his last logbook endorsement by a certificated flight instructor for a flight review was dated August 17, 2004. He held a third class FAA medical certificate that expired November 30, 2005. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The accident airplane was a 1966 model year Beechcraft V35, equipped with a single Continental 285-rated horsepower IO-520-BA engine. The pilot owned the airplane in partnership with another pilot. METEROLOGICAL CONDITIONS The closest weather reporting station was at the Bob Sikes Crestview Airport (KCEW), about 22 mile west of the accident site. Reported weather at 1153 was 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 3,600 feet, temperature 91F, dewpoint 73F, wind from 270 degrees at 7 knots. Prior to the emergency descent, the accident airplane had been in intermittent instrument meteorological conditions at its cruise altitude of 9,000 feet. COMMUNICATIONS The pilot had been in radio contact with FAA ATC facilities and a military approach control facility prior to the accident. An air traffic control aircraft accident package, with partial transcripts of the pilot's communications with these facilities, is in the public docket of this report. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The wreckage was in a wooded swamp between a road and a field, about 400 feet msl. An FAA inspector traveled to the site on July 3 for the initial inspection of the airplane and the accident site. He noted that all of the airplane's major structural components were at the immediate crash site, and that there was a slight odor of gasoline and a light sheen of gasoline on the swamp water surrounding the airplane. The inspector stated that there was a small stream that flowed around the airplane, which kept any substantial amount of fuel from accumulating and being measured. He indicated that the airplane had struck trees while in a gliding descent, with some associated damage to the wings, fuselage, and tail surfaces. He stated that the fuel tanks in the left wing had broken open, and fuel lines were severed in both wings, allowing the remaining fuel in both wings to drain out of the tanks. The airplane came to rest in a near vertical, nose-down attitude, with the engine mostly buried in swamp mud and water. Due to the difficulty in examining the airplane at the crash site, it was recovered to a salvage yard, and inspected by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC). Assisting and under the guidance of the NTSB IIC, were the parties to the investigation: the airplane manufacturer, the engine manufacturer, and an FAA inspector from the Alabama Flight Standards District Office. The inspection disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunction. All essential components of the airplane were recovered and examined. Flight control continuity was established from respective flight controls to points of damage related impingement or separation. One of the two propeller blades had minor chord-wise scratching and slight bending, and the other was essentially undamaged. The engine, which separated from the firewall during impact, was sent to the engine manufacturer for additional inspection and to prepare it for an attempted run on a test stand. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION An autopsy was performed by Office of the Medical Examiner, District I, Florida. The examining physician/pathologist listed the cause of death as "Blunt impact of head." A toxicological test performed by the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was negative for drugs or alcohol. TESTS AND RESEARCH Under the guidance and direction of an NTSB investigator from the Miami regional office, the engine was prepped for a test run at the engine manufacturer, Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM), Mobile, Alabama, on August 10, 2005. In preparation for the engine run, several engine accessories/components that had sustained crash damage were either removed, repaired, or replaced to facilitate the engine run. Those items, along with additional details of the engine preparation and run, are noted in the TCM Engine Operational Test Report in the public docket of this report. Following preparation, and cleaning of mud from portions of the induction system, the engine was started and ran for approximately 20 minutes, reaching and sustaining full-rated rpm/horsepower. Fueling records from the pilot's departure airport, revealed that he had added 31.41 gallons of aviation fuel to the airplane prior to departure. The airplane's fuel tanks held 40 total gallons, with 37 gallons useable. The pilot's flight plan indicated that he had 4 hours and 30 minutes of fuel, and was planning for an en route time of 3 hours and 40 minutes. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2056W](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2056W-2006-11-03), registration cancelled 2006-11-03, S/N D-8040, built 1966 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech V35 - Registry model: [Beech V35](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-v35) (registry code 1151538) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: D-8040 - Airframe hours: 5792 - Engines: Continental IO-520-BA 285 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Dale Allen - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 1, 2005, 75 hours before - Departed: KLVJ, Houston, TX - Destination: KPFN, Panama City, FL - Flight plan: IFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 54; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review August 1, 2004; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 320 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 270° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 91 °F, dew point 73 °F - Altimeter: 29.96 inHg - Observed at: KCEW, 22 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050703015969A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050703015969A), Jul 3, 2005: Beech V35, Defuniak Sprin, FL, Destroyed, 1 fatal. (-23) Aircraft departed houston, pareland regional airport (lvj) at 08:42 CST enroute to panama city (pfn) on a IFR flight plan with 4.5 hrs of fuel, pilot and… ## Other investigations on N2056W (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CHI68F0388](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI68F0388), Oct 10, 1967: Beech V35 (N2056W), Kankakee, IL, substantial damage ## Docket (19 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 20, 2007, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=61905. 11.3 MB in all. - Witness Statements (item 1, .PDF, 121 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286638&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Witness%20Statements-Redacted.PDF - Accident Site Maps (item 2, .PDF, 568 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286639&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Accident%20Site%20Maps-Master.PDF - Pilot's Logbook Excerpts (item 3, .PDF, 141 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286640&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%27s%20Logbook%20Excerpts-Redacted.PDF - FAA Aircraft Accident Package (item 4, .PDF, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40437746&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Package-Redacted.PDF - FAA Inspector's Statement (item 5, .PDF, 34 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40437747&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Inspector%27s%20Statement-Redacted.PDF - Walton County Sheriff's Office Report (item 6, .PDF, 118 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40437748&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Walton%20County%20Sheriff%27s%20Office%20Report-Redacted.PDF - TCM Engine Operational Test Report w/photos (item 7, .PDF, 713 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40437745&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=TCM%20Engine%20Operational%20Test%20Report%20w%2Fphotos-Redacted.PDF - Insight Corporation Engine Trend Monitoring Readout (item 8, .PDF, 2.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286646&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Insight%20Corporation%20Engine%20Trend%20Monitoring%20Readout-Master.PDF - Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation (item 9, .PDF, 59 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286647&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Party%20Representatives%20to%20NTSB%20Investigation-Redacted.PDF - Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 (item 10, .PDF, 72 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286648&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Release%20of%20Aircraft%20Wreckage,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.15-Redacted.PDF - Toxicological Report (item 11, .PDF, 37 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286649&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Toxicological%20Report-Master.PDF - Image 1. Engine and propeller assembly. (item 12, .PDF, 407 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286650&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Image%201.%20%20Engine%20and%20propeller%20assembly.-Master.PDF - Image 2. Tail section. (item 13, .PDF, 350 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286651&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Image%202.%20%20Tail%20section.-Master.PDF - Image 3. Fuselage. (item 14, .PDF, 399 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286652&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Image%203.%20%20Fuselage.-Master.PDF - Image 4. Wings and center section. (item 15, .PDF, 393 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286653&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Image%204.%20%20Wings%20and%20center%20section.-Master.PDF - Image 5. Wings and cockpit. (item 16, .PDF, 398 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286657&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Image%205.%20%20Wings%20and%20cockpit.-Master.PDF - Image 6. Left side, post recovery. (item 17, .PDF, 1.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286658&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Image%206.%20%20Left%20side,%20post%20recovery.-Master.PDF - Image 7. Front view, post recovery. (item 18, .PDF, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286659&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Image%207.%20%20Front%20view,%20post%20recovery.-Master.PDF - Image 8. Right side, post recovery. (item 19, .PDF, 1.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40286660&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Image%208.%20%20Right%20side,%20post%20recovery.-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.