Cessna 337G N3BZ

Summary

On 26 June 2005 at about 22:11 local time, a Cessna 337G registered N3BZ was involved in an accident near Mojave, California, United States. 4 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 June 2005 at 22:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Mojave, California, United States

Nearest airport

Mojave Airport (MHV)

Coordinates

35.0667, -118.1833

Aircraft

Cessna 337G

Registration

N3BZ

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mohave → Van Nuys

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05LA216

1 person was seriously injured.

the pilot's encounter with a downdraft or wind shear during takeoff the initial climb.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted a light post, a hotel, and terrain shortly after takeoff. The pilot reported that the ground roll and liftoff seemed normal. He reported retracting the landing gear and flaps while at a 300-foot/minute climb at 90 miles/hour. He said the flight encountered a downdraft shortly after that during the takeoff initial climb at around 200 to 300 feet above ground level. When the flight encountered the reported downdraft, the engine instruments indicated that both the front and rear engines were producing 24 inches of manifold pressure and 2,500 rpm. The pilot said he was unable to arrest the descent prior to colliding with the hotel and light post. Post-accident examination of the aircraft and engines provided no evidence of a malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation of the engines. Review of the closest weather facility's recorded weather data (located 17 nautical miles away) revealed the flight had a likely headwind of 11 knots and a computed density altitude of 4,903 feet. The calculated performance data revealed that the airplane should have been able to climb about a rate of 850 feet/minute with both engines operative and at normal climb speed of 109 miles/hour.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.