Accident Beechcraft B55 Baron N20480,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 17038
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Wednesday 2 April 2008
Time:19:29
Type:Silhouette image of generic BE55 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Beechcraft B55 Baron
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N20480
MSN: TC-1862
Total airframe hrs:3905 hours
Engine model:Teledyne Continental IO-470-L
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Benson, AZ -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Executive
Departure airport:Safford Airport, AZ (SAD/KSAD)
Destination airport:Benson, AZ (E95)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
A witness at the airport reported that the airplane's first approach for landing in dark night conditions appeared high and fast. Prior to touchdown, the pilot announced over the common traffic frequency that he was going around. During the second approach, which the witness reported as not as high and fast as the first approach, the airplane was about 10 feet above ground level when it passed the midfield point on the 4,000-foot runway. The witness lost sight of the airplane behind a hangar, but heard what sounded like a hard landing, followed by the sound of increasing engine sounds. The witness looked over the hangars and saw a green light (right wing tip) arc to the left as if the airplane were rolling inverted. The airplane collided with the ground in a near-inverted, slightly nose-down attitude and came to rest between the runway and the taxiway. Postcrash examination of the airframe and flight control systems found no anomalies. The left engine was examined and subsequently placed in a test cell. The engine started easily and ran smoothly at various rated power settings. The right engine was subject to a teardown inspection. The disassembly of the engine did not reveal any preexisting anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the engine. Both propellers had impact marks on the spinner from contact with a counterweight while the blade/counterweight was at a low pitch position. There were no impact marks or other indications to suggest that either propeller was feathered. Both propellers were turning and were driven toward a lower blade angle at impact as evidenced by the damage to the low pitch stop. A review of the private pilot's flight logbook indicated the pilot had accumulated approximately 274 hours total flight time in all aircraft, with only 29 hours in the aircraft type and 5 hours of night flying experience logged.
Probable Cause: The pilot's misjudged speed and altitude during approach that led to a long landing and his subsequent failure to maintain control during an attempted go-around. Contributing to the accident were the dark night, the pilot's low total night flight experience, and low total time in the make and model airplane.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: LAX08FA092
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year 1 month
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

History of this aircraft

Other occurrences involving this aircraft
20 December 2003 N20480 Dean Messmer 0 Angwin, CA sub

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
03-Apr-2008 21:25 Fusko Added
21-Apr-2008 10:09 Fusko Updated
21-Dec-2016 19:13 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
21-Dec-2016 19:14 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
21-Dec-2016 19:16 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
21-Dec-2016 19:20 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
03-Dec-2017 10:42 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
08-Jun-2023 04:21 Ron Averes Updated [[Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org