- Date
- October 17, 1997, 17:45 local (Oct 18, 1997, 00:45 UTC)
- Place
- Medford, OR
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5482UBeech V-35
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 10, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971018031409A
- Case key
- 42726
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 refuel the airplane.
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
Prior to the crash, the pilot had requested priority handling inbound to Medford with minimum fuel. The airplane was unable to reach the airport, and crashed one mile southeast of runway 34. An on-scene investigation the day after the accident found no indication of postcrash fire, no indication of fuel on board the airplane, and no evidence of mechanical malfunction. Fire department personnel advised the FAA inspectors that there had been no evidence or odor of fuel at the accident scene.
Factual narrative
On October 17, 1997, approximately 1745 Pacific daylight time, N5482U, a Beech V-35, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing near the Medford, Oregon, airport. The pilot, the sole person on board, was seriously injured. The flight had initiated at John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, California. There was no flight plan filed for the flight, and no report of the ELT actuating.
The pilot had requested priority handling inbound to Medford with minimum fuel. The airplane was unable to reach the airport, and crashed one mile southeast of runway 34 at 1745. FAA inspectors conducted an on-scene investigation the day after the accident. They reported finding no indication of post-crash fire, no indication of fuel on board the airplane, and no evidence of mechanical malfunction. Fire department personnel advised the FAA inspectors that there had been no evidence or odor of fuel at the accident scene.
The pilot did not return an NTSB 6120 1/2 report.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5482U
- Reported as
- Beech V-35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-8551
- Engine
- Continental IO-520, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Robert R. Francis
- Registered owner
- Richard Morales
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- SNA · Santa Ana, CA
- Destination
- BFI · Seattle, WA
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Unknown
- Flight hours
- 367 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.