Beechcraft BE-35 N8946M

Summary

On 29 September 1998 at about 21:20 local time, a Beechcraft BE-35 registered N8946M, operated by Dennis Watermann, was involved in an accident near Point Lookout, Missouri, United States. 3 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

29 September 1998 at 21:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Point Lookout, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

M. Graham Clark (PLK)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Beechcraft BE-35

Registration

N8946M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Dennis Watermann

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Slidell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI98LA366

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's continued flight with a known deficiency in equipment. Contributing to the accident was the maintenance adjustment that was not completed by the mechanic.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft impacted terrain, while returning to Runway 29 at M. Graham Clark Airport, Point Lookout, Missouri, after experiencing a partial loss of engine power. The pilot reported that the mechanic, who inspected the mixture control, had replaced the outer mixture control clamps. The pilot also stated that the mechanic recommended to leave the control full rich until a mechanic could troubleshoot the reason that the control linkage allowed the mixture to go over center. The pilot stated that no paperwork was generated on the clamp replacement and that the mechanic did not want to charge for the work. The mechanic stated, that he had replaced a cable housing clamp and rigged the mixture control to the full rich stop. He also told the pilot that it was still not rigged correctly and would take a week to troubleshoot and repair. The mechanic further reported, that he showed the discrepancy to the pilot and told him he could do whatever he wanted to do. Inspection of the aircraft revealed that there was fuel present in both fuel tanks. Both magnetos were tested and no anomalies were noted. Inspection of the mixture control revealed that it was not travelling to the idle cut-off stop and that the full rich stop pin was not in place.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.