WPR15LA013

NTSB accident investigation · Beech H35 · Bountiful, UT · October 14, 2014

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
October 14, 2014, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
Place
Bountiful, UT
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N647QBeech H35
Defining event
Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report September 14, 2016
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Western Pacific Region
Parties
FAA FSDO
FAA report
20141014019459A
Case key
90251

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 loss of directional control during a tailwind landing.

Findings · 6

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.

Performance/control parameters: directional controlAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedBeech H35: 2 casesAll aircraft: 3,958 casesProbable cause
Wind: tailwindEnvironmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on operationBeech H35: 1 caseAll aircraft: 594 casesProbable cause
Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotBeech H35: 2 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parameters: surface speed/brakingAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Incorrect use/operationBeech H35: 1 caseAll aircraft: 238 cases
Object/animal/substance: residence/buildingEnvironmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcomeBeech H35: 1 caseAll aircraft: 58 cases

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 airline transport pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot reported that, during the flight, the airplane experienced electrical power issues, which prevented him from extending the landing gear. He overflew the runway twice and manually extended the gear, and following touchdown, the airplane departed the runway surface and collided with a hangar. The airplane traveled about 482 ft before it exited the runway surface, and no skid marks or other indications of braking attempts were observed on the runway surface. Weather reports from a nearby airport indicated that a tailwind existed about the time of the landing. The tailwind resulted in a high groundspeed, which likely contributed to the pilot's loss of directional control.

Factual narrative

On October 14, 2014, about 1600 mountain daylight time, a Beech H35, N647Q, collided with a hangar after a runway excursion at Skypark Airport, Bountiful, Utah. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence. The cross-country personal flight departed Alpine, Wyoming, about 1500 MDT, with a planned destination of Bountiful. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the accident site, and interviewed the pilot. The pilot stated that during the return flight the airplane had electrical power issues, and he lowered the landing gear manually. He overflew the runway twice before landing on runway 34. The FAA inspector determined that the airplane touched down on centerline, and traveled 482 feet prior to exiting the runway surface. A visual examination of the 4,700-foot-long runway did not reveal any skid marks or other indications of braking attempts. After departing the runway, it struck a runway light with the landing gear. It continued approximately 3,000 feet through a grass median and across the taxiway, striking a sign, a gate post, and a hangar. There were no indications of braking throughout the runway excursion. No examination of the airframe was conducted. An automated surface weather observation at Salt Lake City International Airport (KSLC), Salt Lake City, Utah, (elevation 4,227 feet mean sea level, 5 miles southwest of the accident site) was issued 7 minutes before the accident. It indicated wind from 170 degrees at 4 knots, 10 miles or greater visibility, few clouds at 13,000 feet, temperature at 23 degrees C, dew point -1 degrees C, and an altimeter setting at 30.02 inches of mercury. The pilot failed to submit a pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB Form 6120.1.

Aircraft

Registration
N647Q
Reported as
Beech H35 (NO SERIES)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
D-5322
Built
1957
Engine
Continental Motors O-470, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Don Peterson
Registered owner
Don Peterson
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
Alpine, WY
Destination
BTF · Bountiful, UT
Airport
BTF · Bountiful Skypark, runway 34, 4,700 × 70 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Stall warning system

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
85
Injuries
None
Certificate
Airline transport
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
Seat
Left
Flight hours
37,414 total · 2,000 in this make and model

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
170° at 4 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
73 °F, dew point 30 °F
Altimeter
30.02 inHg
Icing
Unknown
Turbulence
Unknown
Observed at
KSLC, 5 nm away

Docket · 1

The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 17, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 57 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.