Beechcraft 35 N3181V

Summary

On 13 July 2025 at about 00:45 local time, a Beechcraft 35 registered N3181V was involved in an accident near Cedarcreek, Missouri, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 July 2025 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Cedarcreek, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Private

Coordinates

36.5790, -92.9977

Aircraft

Beechcraft 35

Registration

N3181V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1947

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA252

2 people were seriously injured.

The student pilot’s failure to attain a proper airspeed and climb attitude during takeoff, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident were the student pilot’s lack of experience and poor judgement.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a personal flight, the student pilot, with a passenger, attempted a takeoff from a private grass airstrip that was 2,000 ft in length. The runway had an upward slope during its initial 1,000 ft with the steepest slope occurring during its initial 700 ft. A witness stated that the engine sounded normal and the airplane’s acceleration was slow during the uphill takeoff roll. The airplane lifted off about 900 ft down the runway and entered a nose-high attitude followed by what appeared to be an aerodynamic stall. The airplane descended, impacted terrain, and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented by extending the wing flaps after considering a change in density altitude. The Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Chapter 6, stated that the use of wing flaps is predicated on whether a takeoff is from a short/soft field. Two of the student pilot’s flight instructors stated that they advised the student pilot not to use the accident airplane to learn how to fly. Both flight instructors used a Piper PA-28-140, in preparation for the student pilot to fly solo. One of the flight instructors said that a Piper PA-28-140 was more appropriate to learn in, and the student pilot tended to aggressively get the airplane airborne during takeoff. There were no pilot logbook(s) that were provided showing that the student pilot had current student pilot endorsement(s) to fly the accident airplane and to fly to/from the airstrip. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction failure of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.