Beechcraft E18S N48K

Summary

On 4 February 2003 at about 13:10 local time, a Beechcraft E18S registered N48K, operated by Methow Aviation, was involved in an accident near Burlington, Washington, United States. One person was 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

4 February 2003 at 13:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Burlington, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Skagit Regional Airport (BVS)

Coordinates

48.4828, -122.4400

Aircraft

Beechcraft E18S

Registration

N48K

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Methow Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burlington → Burlington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

SEA03LA034

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to adequately remove ice/frost from the aircraft and to maintain airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff. An inadequate preflight was a factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the preflight he noted ice and frost adhering to the airplane. After applying glycol he polished and brushed off the frost. The pilot warmed up the engines before taking off to stay in the pattern "to clear the airplane of the ice, and to make sure everything was working properly." Before releasing the brakes, the pilot brought the power up to make sure everything was in the green. The pilot stated that for takeoff, he "tried to baby the engines using a less than max power for the departure." The tail of the airplane came up about 3/4 of the way down the runway. Seeing the end of the runway, more power was added and the aircraft lifted off. The landing gear was raised when a positive rate was attained. Shortly after gear retraction the pilot stated that, "I felt the airplane mushing, like a stall. I then added more power, but the aircraft kept mushing, and then it impacted terrain with power on both engines." The aircraft came to rest in an open field located approximately 1/4 mile from the end of the runway. After the accident, ice was still noted adhering to most of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.