Beechcraft B35 N5246C

Summary

On 13 April 1998 at about 15:00 local time, a Beechcraft B35 registered N5246C was involved in an accident near Bentonville, Arkansas, 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

13 April 1998 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Bentonville, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

36.3601, -94.1991

Aircraft

Beechcraft B35

Registration

N5246C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Springdale → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI98LA125

Nobody was injured.

the damage to the empennage was due to flutter.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane was just leveling off after a descent of 700 feet. The wind was light in smooth air. The airplane was in a 15 degree angle of bank right turn, 1 to 2 degrees nose down attitude, and at 180 mph. The airspeed was in the middle of the yellow arc. The pilot reported the airplane began to shake violently like a rivet gun hitting against the fuselage, or like a machine gun. He said the vibrations reverberated throughout his body. He did not feel any vibrations in the controls. He pushed over on the control column after about three seconds of vibration. The vibration stopped. An uneventful landing was made. The aircraft inspection revealed cracks in the upper two corners of the FS 256.9 bulkhead. The forward spar of the right ruddervator was broken. A crack had proceeded through the top spar flange and had worked its way down to the bottom flange but stopped about 1/4 inch prior to reaching a rivet hole. The center hinge had broken and a 8.5 inch skin tear was evident on the top surface of the ruddervator. The ruddervators were properly balanced. The inspection revealed no maintenance anomalies. The FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive 98-13-02 on July 7, 1998, restricting the airspeed to 144 mph on Beech 35, A35,and B35 airplanes. The aircraft manufacturer issued a Service Bulletin 27-3358 in February 2000, which required an extensive inspection of empennage components, and it changed the ruddervator underbalance from 16.8 to 19.8 inch pounds to 16.8 to 18.0 inch pounds in order to lift the speed restriction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.