- Date
- March 9, 1991, 19:50 local (Mar 10, 1991, 00:50 UTC)
- Place
- Key West, FL
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4828JBeech 35-C33A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report February 8, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910309004799A
- Case key
- 32747
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-in-command's failure to maintain airspeed, while returning for an emergency landing following propeller failure, resulting in the aircraft stalling and entering a spin.
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
Witnesses rptd they heard propeller overspeed followed by engine pwr being reduced to idle as if pilot pulled throttle closed. Acft then banked to left and entered spin to the left crashing into a parking lot. Post crash examination of the engine, acft structure, and flight controls revealed no evidence of precrash failure or malfunction. Examination of the propeller revealed the number two blade pitch change actuating pin had failed due to fatigue. The pin had been installed at overhaul, 600 flt hours before the accident, by following mccauley service bulletin 99 which is not applicable to this model propeller. The pin was installed by using a short threaded pin, a thin spacer, and a blind hole in the ferrule. This combination allowed the pin to bottom out in the hole thus not torquing properly and thus cracking due to applied loads.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4828J
- Reported as
- Beech 35-C33A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- CE-115
- Airframe hours
- 4,050
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-D, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James W. Hardin
- Registered owner
- James W. Hardin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 1990 · 103 hours before
- Destination
- PBI · West Palm Beach, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,200 total · 600 in this make and model · 35 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 350° at 22 knots, gusting 27
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EYW, 1 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.