Beechcraft 35 N3134V

Summary

On 22 February 1996 at about 21:00 local time, a Beechcraft 35 registered N3134V was involved in an accident near Griffin, Georgia, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 February 1996 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Griffin, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

33.2891, -84.2803

Aircraft

Beechcraft 35

Registration

N3134V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orlando → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL96LA132

Nobody was injured.

failure of maintenance personnel to properly balance the ruddervator assemblies after they had been reskinned and painted, which resulted in flutter and subsequent damage to the empennage.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Flutter of the empennage occurred as the airplane was descending through 8,000 feet at 120 mph. The flutter subsided when the pilot reduced engine power, and he subsequently landed without incident. Examination of the empennage disclosed that the bulkhead at fuselage station (FS) 256.9 exhibited cracks at the four corners of the assembly. Also, buckling of the fuselage skin was noted adjacent to the damaged bulkhead. The ruddervators, which previously had been reskinned, painted, and balanced, were removed from the airframe and balance checked in accordance with the Bonanza 35 Series Shop Manual. The left and right ruddervators exhibited static underbalance moments (trailing edge heavy) of 20.78 and 21.76 inch-pounds, respectively. According to the shop manual, the required static underbalance range is 16.80 to 19.80 inch pounds.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.