Beechcraft BE-19A N6974Q

Summary

On 9 October 2006 at about 12:35 local time, a Beechcraft BE-19A registered N6974Q was involved in an accident near Gunthertown, Alabama, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 October 2006 at 12:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Gunthertown, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

33.3819, -85.9072

Aircraft

Beechcraft BE-19A

Registration

N6974Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Auburn → Murfreesboro

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

NTSB number

ATL07FA005

1 person died.

The pilot's continued flight from VMC into IMC conditions which resulted in an in-flight collision with rising terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

About 24 minutes before departure, the pilot received a weather briefing from a flight service station that informed him that overcast conditions at 1200 feet could be expected along his route of flight. The briefer also informed the pilot that flight under visual flight rules (VFR) was not recommended; however, the pilot elected to depart under VFR. Although no radar data exists for the flight, the location of the accident site was consistent with the pilot having flown the airplane toward the Talladega National Forest, an area where the pilot frequently flew. After the pilot failed to arrive at his destination, a search was initiated, and the wreckage was located on October 11, 2006, at 1340, on Burgess Peak, at an elevation of 1,787 feet mean sea level. The airplane first impacted the top of a tree on the south side of Burgess Peak on a 300-degree heading. This heading coincides with the heading the pilot would have been flying when he departed the Auburn-Opelika Airport, indicating the pilot was on his intended heading and had control of the airplane at the time of the first tree impact. A review of the weather briefing the pilot received from Flight Service prior to his departure, revealed that the airplane likely encountered instrument meteorological conditions and near zero visibility at the altitude of the accident site. Examination of the airplane found no preimpact mechanical failure or malfunctions that would have prevented the airplane from operating properly.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.