Beechcraft BE-36A N343BA

Summary

On 2 March 2003 at about 00:30 local time, a Beechcraft BE-36A registered N343BA was involved in an accident near Mount Airy, North Carolina, United States. 5 people were on board and 5 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 March 2003 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Mount Airy, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Mount Airy/Surry County (MWK)

Coordinates

36.4275, -80.5581

Aircraft

Beechcraft BE-36A

Registration

N343BA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mount Airy → Elizabethtown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

ATL03FA052

5 people died.

The pilots failure to maintain control of the aircraft due to spatial disorientation. A factor was low clouds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the airport manager, the instrument flight collided with the ground shortly after takeoff. Weather at the time of the accident was wind calm, visibility two statue miles, drizzle, ceiling overcast 500 feet, temperature eight degrees Celsius, dew point six degrees Celsius, altimeter 30.00 inches of mercury. Examination of the wreckage site found that the airplane had collided with terrain on the south side of an east-west oriented hill, in a near vertical nose-down attitude. The engine and forward cabin had penetrated the ground to a depth of about eight feet. The wreckage examination failed to disclose anomalies with the airframe or systems.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.