Beechcraft A36 N326DK

Summary

On 1 September 2007 at about 14:33 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N326DK, operated by Victor J. Osborne, Jr., was involved in an accident near Elizabethton, Tennessee, 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

1 September 2007 at 14:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Elizabethton, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Elizabethton Municipal Airport (0A9)

Coordinates

36.4336, -82.1028

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N326DK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Victor J. Osborne, Jr.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Elizabethton → Abingdon

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA07FA137

5 people died.

The poor in-flight planning by the pilot-in-command for flying towards rising terrain with inadequate clearance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Beech A36 airplane was approximately 0.95 inch aft of the aft center of gravity (CG) limit at the start of the flight, which was destined for an airport approximately 20 nautical miles north-northeast of the departure airport. Mountainous terrain at an elevation of 4,321 feet mean sea level (msl) was noted between the departure and destination airports. The flight departed from runway 06, and by witness accounts the airplane became airborne 2/3 down the 4,529 foot-long runway, and was noted to be only 75 to 100 feet above ground level (agl) at a point approximately 1,500 feet past the departure end of the runway. Witnesses also reported the airplane was flying slow in a steep climb attitude with the landing gear retracted, and there was no unusual engine sounds heard. The flight continued on a northeasterly heading, where another witness located in mountainous terrain about 1 mile southwest of the crash site location noted the airplane flying only 2-3 times the height of the tree tops, or an estimated 200 to 250 feet agl. That witness reported the engine sounded like it was a larger engine, and he did not hear any missing or sputtering from it. The airplane impacted up sloping terrain during daylight hours at an elevation of 3,400 feet msl, approximately 5.38 miles northeast from the departure end of runway 06. There were no known witnesses to the crash. Impact and a postcrash fire destroyed the airplane. Examination of the airframe and flight controls revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. Examination of the engine, engine systems, and propeller also revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.