- Date
- December 6, 1991, 16:12 local (Dec 7, 1991, 00:12 UTC)
- Place
- Klamath Falls, OR
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3323VBeech 35
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 41615
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
Pilot factor in that he failed to follow IFR procedures. Factors to the accident were generator failure, operation with known deficiencies with equipment, and poor inflight planning.
Analysis
During a pleasure cross country flight, the pilot reported that the airlanes generator quit. The pilot opted to divert to another airport where he was directed to fly the DME arc for landing. The pilot was established on the arc for a short time then turned inbound before intercepting the published radial inbound. The pilot did not follow a straight line course to the airport and eventually reported to air traffic that he was losing his radios and his battery was going dead. The flight continued to descend off of the published procedures and collided into mountainous terrain.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3323V
- Reported as
- Beech 35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-784
- Airframe hours
- 4,987
- Engine
- Continental E-185-11, 185 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Russell W. Hackler
- Registered owner
- Russell W. Hackler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 19, 1991
- Departed
- HWD · Hayward, CA
- Destination
- S21 · Sunriver, OR
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- LMT · Kingsley Field, runway 14, 10,301 × 150 ft, asphalt
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 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,200 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 2,159 as pilot in command · 46 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 210° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,900 ft broken
- Temperature
- 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LMT, 6 nm away