- Date
- August 5, 2009, 15:50 local (22:50 UTC)
- Place
- St. Johns, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N4577VBeech 35
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 19, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20090805016979A
- Case key
- 74467
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 inadequate compensation for the crosswind gust and failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the gusty crosswind weather conditions.
Findings · 5
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The flight made a fuel stop on a cross-country flight. The pilot reported a left quartering headwind during the takeoff. He applied the proper crosswind control inputs and immediately after liftoff aligned the airplane into the wind to maintain a ground track over the runway centerline. The pilot said a wind gust from the left affected the airplane, resulting in the left wing rising and the airplane banking to the right. Subsequently, the right wing, the empennage, and the right main landing gear touched down and the airplane exited the runway to the right. The airplane continued down an embankment, impacting a chain link airport perimeter fence. The airplane came to rest upright. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed structural damage to left and right wings, the left landing gear assembly, fuselage, and empennage. The on-field weather station recorded the wind at the time of departure as 50 degrees left of the runway heading at 15 knots, gusting to 22 knots.
Factual narrative
After making a fuel stop on a cross-country flight, the pilot reported a left quartering headwind during the takeoff. He applied the proper crosswind control inputs and immediately after liftoff aligned the airplane into the wind to maintain a ground track over the runway centerline. The pilot reported a wind gust from the left impacted the airplane resulting in the left wing rising and the airplane banking to the right. Subsequently, the right wing, the empennage, and the right main landing gear touched down resulting in the airplane exiting the runway to the right. The airplane continued down an embankment impacting a chain link airport perimeter fence. The airplane came to rest upright. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed structural damage to left and right wings, the left landing gear assembly, fuselage, and empennage. The on-field weather station recorded the wind at the time of departure as 50 degrees left of the runway heading at 15 knots, gusting to 22 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4577V
- Reported as
- Beech 35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-952
- Airframe hours
- 5,649
- Engine
- Cont Motor E225 SERIES, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mccollum James Harold
- Registered owner
- Mccollum James Harold
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 3, 2008 · 44 hours before
- Departed
- KSJN · St. Johns, AZ
- Destination
- KSEE · El Cajon, CA
- Airport
- SJN · St. Johns Industrial Airpark, runway 32, 5,322 × 75 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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,523 total · 2,321 in this make and model · 2,416 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- KSJN
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 31, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 567 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4577V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.