Beechcraft E35 N3213C

Summary

On 20 November 2008 at about 12:30 local time, a Beechcraft E35 registered N3213C, operated by Six Four Alpha LLC, was involved in an accident near Bloomington, Indiana, 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

20 November 2008 at 12:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Bloomington, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Monroe County (BMG)

Coordinates

39.1461, -86.6167

Aircraft

Beechcraft E35

Registration

N3213C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Six Four Alpha LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Indianapolis → Owensboro

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09CA080

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power due to a failure of the number one cylinder exhaust valve, and the associated secondary damage to the intake valve and piston.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the engine began to run rough during cruise flight at 6,000 feet mean sea level. He noted that the takeoff and climb were uneventful, and that the personal instrument-flight-rules flight had proceeded normally to that point. He advised air traffic control of the situation and elected to divert to an intermediate airport located approximately 10 miles west of his present position. The pilot increased the mixture, switched fuel tanks, and applied carburetor heat in an attempt to address the rough running engine; however, those efforts were not successful. The number one cylinder temperature had dropped and the engine oil pressure subsequently went to zero. He notified the controller that he would be unable to make it to the runway and set up for a forced landing in a pasture about 3.5 miles east of the airport. The terrain consisted of rolling hills. After touchdown, he was unable to stop the airplane before the aircraft impacted a fence or trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the leading edges of both wings. A postaccident inspection revealed that the number one cylinder exhaust valve had failed at the base of the valve stem. The intake valve and piston sustained mechanical damage as a result. The secondary mechanical damage precluded a metallurgical examination of the fracture surface of the exhaust valve stem. The engine had accumulated about 1,130 hours since overhaul and the airplane had accumulated about 26 hours of flight time since the most recent annual inspection, which was completed approximately one month prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.