Beech V35B accident near Delano, CA
On December 30, 1995, a Beech V35B (airplane) was involved in an accident near Delano, CA. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 30, 1995
- Place
- Delano, CA
- Aircraft
- Beech V35B · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.779°N, 119.230°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001207X05022
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 30, 1995, at 1204 hours Pacific standard time, a Beech V35B, N7337R, impacted terrain 1 mile east of the Delano, California, airport while executing an instrument approach. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and postcrash fire and the private pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The flight originated at Cottonwood, Arizona, around 1030 mountain standard time and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed en route; however, instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the destination and the pilot requested an instrument approach. A witness who was entering his house, which is under the missed approach flight path and about 100 yards from the crash site, told NTSB investigators that he heard the aircraft circling overhead followed by an increase in engine sound followed by the sound of impact. The sound of the engine was audible to impact. Another witness, a worker in a nearby field, heard the aircraft approach from the south and fly northbound over the airport. The aircraft then started a right turn and was visible in the base of the clouds as it flew over the witness's position around 800 feet AGL. The witness described the aircraft flying in and out of the cloud bases until it made an abrupt pull-up into the clouds. The aircraft next appeared out of the clouds in a near vertical dive that continued to impact. A third witness, a corporate pilot awaiting instrument release at Delano airport, reported that ceiling information was not available from the Automatic Weather Observation Service (AWOS-3). H
Probable cause
Failure of the pilot to maintain control of the aircraft during an IFR circling approach. A factor relating to the accident was: the pilot's lack of instrument flight experience in high performance aircraft.
More accidents in CA
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Browse: California · 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.
