ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 244719
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| Date: | Friday 6 November 2020 |
| Time: | 16:38 |
| Type: |  Beechcraft J35 Bonanza |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N617Q |
| MSN: | D-6506 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1960 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Gillespie County Airport (T82), Fredericksburg, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Gillespie County Airport, TX (T82) |
| Gillespie County Airport, TX (T82) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The accident flight was a planned four-airplane formation practice flight. A Beech J35 was the flight leader and departed first along with a Beech M35. The third and fourth airplanes departed shortly thereafter. After takeoff, the M35's landing gear would not retract, and the M35 moved to the 'route' position (about 3 to 4 airplane widths away from the J35) to troubleshoot the landing gear problem. The third and fourth airplanes departed the formation, and the pilot of the J35 directed the pilot of the M35 to take the lead position back to the airport. While on downwind before turning onto the base leg, the pilot and observer of the M35 heard a loud 'bang/wham,' and the airplane violently shook. The M35's propeller assembly separated from the airplane and the pilot performed a forced landing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its fuselage and left wing. The J35 entered an uncontrolled descent, impacted terrain, and was destroyed by postimpact fire.
Postaccident examination of the airplanes revealed that the J35's propeller contacted the left forward side of the M35. Evidence of propeller contact was noted on the M35 engine, engine cowling, and nose wheel tire. Both airplanes were operating in the same landing gear and flap configurations at the time of the collision. A performance study showed that, about one second before the collision, the M35's descent rate increased from 350 ft/min to 750 ft/min.
Based on the available information, the accident is consistent with the J35 pilot's failure to maintain separation from the M35 while maneuvering.
Probable Cause: The pilot of the J35's failure to maintain clearance from the M35, which resulted in a midair collision and the J35 pilot's subsequent loss of control and impact with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CEN21FA043
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N617Q
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
NTSB is investigating the Friday, Nov. 6, collision in Fredericksburg, TX involving a Beech M-35 and a Beech J-35.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) November 7, 2020
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Nov-2020 00:01 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 08-Nov-2020 00:02 | Captain Adam | Updated [Date, Time, Embed code] |
| 09-Nov-2020 18:01 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-Nov-2020 00:49 | RobertMB | Updated [Source] |
| 10-Nov-2020 09:20 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Source] |
| 07-Jul-2022 19:07 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Cn, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
| 08-Jul-2022 18:34 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Photo] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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