Beechcraft 35 N404B

Summary

On 29 June 2002 at about 16:13 local time, a Beechcraft 35 registered N404B was involved in an accident near Cortez, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 June 2002 at 16:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Cortez, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Cortez Municipal (CEZ)

Coordinates

37.3028, -108.6281

Aircraft

Beechcraft 35

Registration

N404B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Cortez

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN02LA064

1 person was seriously injured.

an inadvertent stall as the pilot attempted to clear a cliff and ravine and avoid power lines, resulting in a collision with the ground. Contributing factors were a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, a leaking carburetor and fuel pump, and the cliff, ravine, and power lines.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot took off at 0638, drawing fuel from the left main tank. At 0739, he switched to the right main tank. At 0840, he switched to the auxiliary fuel tank. As he approached his destination, the pilot noted that the main fuel tanks were half full and the auxiliary fuel tank was over half full. He reduced power and began a slow descent. As he approached the traffic pattern, he switched back to the left main fuel tank. On approach, he lowered the landing gear and as he started to lower the flaps, he noticed the airspeed had decreased so he added power. The airplane "started to wobble and became hard to handle," so the pilot applied full power. The airspeed "was not responding very quickly." He confirmed the fuel selector was on the left tank and the fuel boost pump was on. After clearing a rock wall cliff and ravine, the pilot flew underneath power lines and the airplane struck the ground. Flow testing of the carburetor at 10 pounds psi revealed an external leak at the idle diaphragm. Further tests indicated the carburetor would run rich at low power settings and lean at high power settings. The fuel pump was able to maintain 20 gph at 10 psi and 500 rpm. At 1,000 rpm, a leak was noted at the lower splitline surface. At 2,500 rpm, the fuel pump maintained 160 gph at 12 psi.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.