Beech G35 accident near West Palm Beach, FL
On January 9, 1995, a Beech G35 (airplane) was involved in an accident near West Palm Beach, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 9, 1995
- Place
- West Palm Beach, FL
- Aircraft
- Beech G35 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 26.650°N, 80.250°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001207X02907
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 9, 1995, about 1750 eastern standard time, a Beech G35, N32TS, collided with the terrain approximately 20 miles west of West Palm Beach, Florida. The pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The personal flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane had departed the Palm Beach County Glades Airport, Pahokee, Florida, at an undetermined time en route to a private airstrip at Wellington, Florida, located approximately 15 miles east of the departure airport. A Florida State Highway Patrol (FHP) Pilot who was flying traffic alert, saw N32TS descending rapidly. The FHP Pilot stated that he had received an alert "...from the onboard TCAD [Traffic Collision Alert Device]." He said the TCAD indicated that there was an air traffic collision threat "less than one mile horizontally, and 500' ft. above my altitude (which was 600' ft. above ground level) over open sugar cane/sawgrass swamp land." As he proceeded in an easterly direction, the target kept closing on the FHP airplane, and although the pilot was searching for the target airplane, he was unable to visually locate the airplane. According to the FHP Pilot's statement: ...I then observed below and behind my left wing a trail of smoke (light blue/gray) in color...the smoke was coming from a dark in color, "V-Tail" Beechcraft Bonanza airplane. The Bonanza was rolling and pitching up and down erratically as it went by me in it's descent. I saw a bright orange glare coming from the airplane's
Probable cause
Improper top overhaul by maintenance personnel, and improperly torqued crackcase thru-bolts and cylinder deck studs at the number one cylinder, which led to fatigue failure of four of the bolts, failure and/or separation of the number one cylinder, and a subsequent fire.
More accidents in FL
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Browse: Florida · Beech aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
