Beechcraft B55 N811J

Summary

On 23 November 1990 at about 19:00 local time, a Beechcraft B55 registered N811J, operated by Hanneman, Delmar R., was involved in an accident near England, Arkansas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 November 1990 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

England, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

34.5396, -91.9605

Aircraft

Beechcraft B55

Registration

N811J

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Hanneman, Delmar R.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lincoln → England

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW91FA017

1 person died.

THE PILOT'S MISJUDGEMENT OF ALTITUDE, WHICH RESULTED IN HIS FAILURE TO ARREST DESCENT FROM A DIVE. THE PILOT'S IMPAIRED JUDGMENT FROM CONSUMPTION OF ETHANOL (ALCOHOL) WAS A FACTOR.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE ACFT WAS ON A FLT FROM LINCOLN, KANSAS TO ENGLAND, ARKANSAS. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE ACFT FLYING ERRATICALLY, NEAR A LAKE, CLOSE TO THE DESTN. THEY ATTRIBUTED THIS AS TRYING TO GAIN THEIR RECOGNITION IN THE FORM OF A GREETING. THE ACFT SUBSEQUENTLY CRASHED WHILE FLYING TOWARD THE LAKE. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED EVIDENCE THAT IT HAD ENTERED A DIVE & IMPACTED THE GND AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED BEFORE ARRESTING THE DESCENT. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENG WAS FND. THE TOXICOLOGY TESTING REVEALED THE PRESENCE OF WIDELY VARYING LEVELS OF ETHANOL IN THE PILOT'S BLOOD (79 MG/DL OR 0.079%), LUNG (65 MG/DL), & SPLEEN (36MG/DL), AS WELL AS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT (127 MG/DL)IN HIS URINE. THE TOXICOLOGIST INDICATED THAT SOME OF THE ETHANOL MAY HAVE BEEN FROM PUTREFACTION, BUT SOME WAS FROM PRE-ACCIDENT INGESTION BY THE PILOT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.