Beechcraft 35-C33A N63B

Summary

On 18 May 2023 at about 13:17 local time, a Beechcraft 35-C33A registered N63B was involved in an accident near Indianola, Mississippi, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 May 2023 at 13:17

Classification

Accident

Location

Indianola, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Indianola Muni (IDL)

Coordinates

33.4838, -90.6787

Aircraft

Beechcraft 35-C33A

Registration

N63B

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Indianola → Starkville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA194

Nobody was injured.

An in-flight fire for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that before the flight he completed an engine runup with no anomalies noted. After departure, when the airplane was about 800 to 1,000 ft above ground level, he smelled “burning plastic” and observed smoke from the engine compartment. He turned back toward the airport and was on the base leg of the traffic pattern when he observed flames coming through the firewall under the battery box area. He tried to kick out the flame, but the fire seemed to be coming from the engine side of the firewall. He turned off the electrical system and adjusted the mixture control to cut off the fuel. He performed a gear-up landing on the runway as the cabin filled with smoke. After the airplane came to rest and the pilot egressed, the fire consumed a majority of the fuselage before it was extinguished. The pilot recorded a video of the airplane that showed dark smoke in the cabin and heat discoloration below the front right windscreen, near the battery box. The postaccident examination was unable to determine the source of the fire due to the extensive fire damage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.