Beechcraft V35B N6056M

Summary

On 7 December 1996 at about 19:21 local time, a Beechcraft V35B registered N6056M was involved in an accident near Lake Tahoe, California, 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

7 December 1996 at 19:21

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Tahoe, California, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Beechcraft V35B

Registration

N6056M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Smith Ranch → Truckee

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97FA067

1 person died.

the pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather and improper in-flight planning and decision making.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was advised of moderate turbulence below 18,000 feet msl, with a freezing level reported to be 9,300 feet and rime icing expected. En route the pilot changed his destination to Lake Tahoe instead of Truckee. He was requested to hold at the Squaw Valley VOR at 13,000 feet and to expect a clearance into Lake Tahoe. The pilot stated that he was in rime icing and requested 12,000 and, unable to hold at 12,000 feet, requested 11,000 feet. He was given a heading change and requested to maintain 11,000 feet. He then requested a 180-degree turn and later reported that he was now out of the clouds and in the clear, but he had a lot of ice. He then stated 'we're declaring an emergency I'm going down.' ATC provided the pilot with a heading change to which he acknowledged. That was the last communication with the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.