Beech V35 accident near Shawnee, OK
On May 23, 1997, a Beech V35 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Shawnee, OK. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 23, 1997
- Place
- Shawnee, OK
- Aircraft
- Beech V35 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.331°N, 96.910°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X07901
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 23, 1997, approximately 1648 central daylight time, a Beech V35, N5459U, was destroyed following a loss of control while on departure climb from Shawnee Municipal Airport, near Shawnee, Oklahoma. The non-instrument rated private pilot and his two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated by a private individual under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the departure airport, but the FAA Flight Service Station (FSS) recommended IFR for the cross country personal flight which originated approximately 5 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed, but witnesses stated that the proposed destination was Minot, North Dakota. According to witnesses, the pilot and his family had departed Minot, North Dakota, on May 19, 1997, for the flight to Shawnee, Oklahoma. On May 23, FAA records indicate that the pilot called the McAlester FSS, at approximately 0855, for a weather briefing. The FAA weather briefer gave the pilot a detailed weather briefing, which included the recommendation to "not fly VFR." The pilot stated to the briefer that he wanted to get home for his daughter's high school graduation ceremony on Sunday, but, "I'm not going to fly with those [weather] conditions." Witnesses reported, to the Investigator-In-Charge (IIC), that the pilot arrived at the airport, at approximately 1315, to take friends and relatives for rides in the local area. One witness stated that the pilot then asked him, at approximately 1400, to "top off the fuel tanks"; which he did with approximately 42 gallons
Probable cause
The pilot's inadvertent entry into a spin. A factor was the pilot's initiated flight into adverse weather.
More accidents in OK
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Browse: Oklahoma · 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.
