Beechcraft A36 N3674B
7 April 1990 · Kneeland, California, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 7 April 1990 at about 17:35 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N3674B, operated by Merle Stone Chevrolet, Inc, was involved in an accident near Kneeland, California, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 17:35
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Kneeland, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Arcata (ACV)
- Coordinates
- 40.6700, -123.8805
- Aircraft
- Beechcraft A36
- Registration
- N3674B
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Merle Stone Chevrolet, Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Business
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Sacramento → Aracata
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX90FA138
People
3 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
THE PILOT'S IMPROPER USE OF IFR PROCEDURES BY FAILING TO MAINTAIN THE MINIMUM DESCENT ALTITUDE FOR THE SEGMENT OF THE APPROACH THAT HE WAS FLYING. THE HILLY/MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
WHILE EN ROUTE FROM SACRAMENTO TO ARCATA, CA, THE PLT CONTACTED ARTCC & FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN. AS HE WAS APCHG THE DESTN AT 10,000', HE REQUESTED A LOWER ALT. HE WAS CLEARED TO DSCND TO 8000'. HE WAS THEN CLEARED FOR AN ILS RWY 32 APCH TO AN UNCTLD ARPT AT ARCATA WITH A RESTRICTION TO REMAIN AT 8000' UNTIL CROSSING THE YAGER INTXN. THE PLT BGN HIS DSCNT EARLY & CROSSED THE YAGER INTXN AT 6700. THE ACFT DSCNDD BELOW RADAR COVERAGE AT 5300'. RADAR SVC WAS TERMINATED & THE PLT WAS INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT THE ARCATA FSS. HE CONTACTED THE FSS STATION & WAS ADZD THE WX WAS PARTIALLY OBSCD, 400' BKN, 1500' BKN, 2400' OVC, 3 MI VIS. THE PLT ACKNOWLEDGE & SAID HE WAS IN THE CLOUDS AT 3200', THEN THERE WAS NO FURTHER CONTACT WITH THE ACFT. A SEARCH WAS INITIATED & THE ACFT WAS FOUND WHERE IT HAD CRASHED ALONG THE ILS COURSE LINE ABOUT 18 MI SHORT OF THE RWY. IMPACT OCCURRED ON HILLY/MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AT AN ELEV OF ABOUT 2750'. THE MIN DSCNT ALT FOR THAT SEGMENT OF THE APCH WAS 5200'.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Beechcraft A36 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 1990 | Beechcraft A36 | Gaylord, Michigan, United States | G M N Leasing | Fatal | 4 |
| 25 Oct 1990 | Beechcraft A36 | Georgetown, South Carolina, United States | Air and Sea Sales Corporation | Fatal | 2 |
| 8 Nov 1990 | Beechcraft A36 | Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States | John Franklin Mallory | Fatal | 2 |
| 11 Jul 1990 | Beechcraft A36 | Los Banos, California, United States | Edward F. Olivera | No injuries | - |
| 8 May 1990 | Beechcraft A36 | Anderson, Indiana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 May 1990 | Beechcraft A36 | Hahira, Georgia, United States | Fellowship Homes | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Apr 1990 | Cessna 180 | Soledad, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Oct 1990 | Cessna 150 | Riverside, California, United States | PAR Flight | No injuries | - |
| 17 Apr 1990 | Piper PA46 | Paso Robles, California, United States | Piper Aircraft Corp. | No injuries | - |
| 7 Oct 1990 | Cessna 182M | Bakersfield, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 1 Apr 1990 | Piper J-3 | Creston, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1990 | Bell 47G4 | Merced, California, United States | John W. Myers | Serious injuries | - |