Beechcraft 58 N4320W

Summary

On 15 March 1993 at about 05:34 local time, a Beechcraft 58 registered N4320W was involved in an accident near Grants, New Mexico, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 March 1993 at 05:34

Classification

Accident

Location

Grants, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

35.1493, -107.8296

Aircraft

Beechcraft 58

Registration

N4320W

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Albuquerque → Oakland

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW93FA103

4 people died.

THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION AND THE SELECTION OF AN ALTITUDE THAT WOULD NOT PROVIDE TERRAIN CLEARANCE ALONG HIS PLANNED ROUTE. FACTORS WERE THE DARK NIGHT CONDITIONS AND THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE AIRPLANE WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT ALONG AN AIRWAY, WITH A MINIMUM EN ROUTE ALTITUDE OF 13,300 FEET, WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN AT AN ELEVATION OF 10,600 FEET. IMPACT OCCURRED ON A SNOW COVERED MOUNTAIN CRESTING AT 11,301 FEET. DARK NIGHT CONDITIONS EXISTED AND THE PILOT HAD JUST ACTIVATED A VFR FLIGHT PLAN. CARGO INCLUDED COBALT 60, A RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL. SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN WAS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE PILOT OR THE PASSENGERS. RECORDED RADAR DATA INDICATED THAT THE AIRPLANE GROUND TRACK WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE MEASURED GROUND SCAR HEADING OF APPROXIMATELY 272 DEGREES. TREE/TERRAIN IMPACT OCCURRED IN A LEVEL FLIGHT ATTITUDE. WEIGHT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 5,718 POUNDS; MAXIMUM GROSS WEIGHT WAS 5,400 POUNDS.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.