ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 343375
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| Date: | Thursday 20 July 2023 |
| Time: | 12:55 |
| Type: |  Beechcraft C35 Bonanza |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N620D |
| MSN: | D-2879 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1951 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3274 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport (RKS/KRKS), Rock Springs, WY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Las Vegas-North Las Vegas Airport, NV (VGT/KVGT) |
| Rock Springs-Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport, WY (RKS/KRKS) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On July 20, 2023, about 1255 mountain daylight time, a Beech C35 airplane, N620D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Rock Springs, Wyoming. The pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal cross-country flight.
The pilot reported that during the flight he obtained an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance and climbed to 15,000 ft mean sea level (msl) to get above the clouds. During the climb, the pilot and passenger heard a “pop sound” from the engine compartment. The passenger thought he saw something “fly up from the engine” and was stuck on the windshield, which they described as five small black specs of “black goo.” The pilot checked all of the engine instruments and noted that they were all in the green. About 5 minutes later, the airplane could not maintain altitude and the pilot was cleared to descend to 14,000 ft msl.
The pilot stated that the engine RPM had slightly decreased, but all the engine indications were still in the green, and he decided to continue to his destination airport, Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport (RKS), Rock Springs. Upon obtaining the airport in sight, he cancelled the IFR clearance and entered a straight-in approach to runway 3. About 1 mile from the airport, he noticed that he was too high, and performed a slip for about 3 seconds to decrease altitude. The pilot stated that he stopped the slip because of the uncomfortable descent rate and that the airplane was still too high.
The engine RPM had continued to decrease to 1,250, and the pilot declared an emergency and decided to land on runway 27. As he turned to the east, the airplane was descending fast, while he was north of runway 27. The pilot stated that he considered landing on a taxiway, however, saw an airplane holding short of the runway and opted to turn left for an off-field landing. The pilot realized he was traveling toward powerlines and tried to maneuver around them. Subsequently, the airplane impacted powerlines and terrain.
Examination of the airplane revealed that both wings and fuselage sustained substantial damage. The airplane was relocated to a secured facility for further examination.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N620D
https://www.n620d.com/
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 18 March 1955 | N620D | private | 0 | Palm Springs, CA | |
min |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Aug-2023 20:06 | Captain Adam | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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