Beech 95-B55 accident near San Carlos, AZ
On June 3, 1997, a Beech 95-B55 (airplane) was involved in an accident near San Carlos, AZ. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 3, 1997
- Place
- San Carlos, AZ
- Aircraft
- Beech 95-B55 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 33.539°N, 110.469°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X08163
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 3, 1997, about 1040 hours mountain standard time, a Beech 95-B55, N8KB, collided with terrain during a routine fire reconnaissance of the San Carlos Indian Reservation (SCIR), San Carlos, Arizona. The aircraft was being operated by Safford Aviation, under an exclusive use contract to the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a public-use aircraft. The mission was a routine fire patrol conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed during the impact sequence and subsequent postcrash fire. The certificated commercial pilot and his observer received fatal injuries. The aircraft had previously been in contact with the San Carlos Dispatch radio operator and was giving agency flight following reports. The flight originated at San Carlos at 1007. There were no known eyewitnesses to the accident. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the crew of N8KB (referred to in their logs as P-2) called the San Carlos dispatch at 1027 and reported their location was Baskin Tank, and that they were en route to Elwood Tank. The dispatcher tried to reach P-2 via aircraft radio on an agency FM frequency at 1051, and again at 1054, with no response. At 1057, another fire patrol aircraft, H350, a Bell 206L1, took off and proceeded to Coupon Tank due to black smoke being reported. At 1156, H350 landed at the incident site and discovered the downed aircraft. The aircraft came to rest in a portion of the Black River Canyon, which is located in Apache County, Ariz
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which led to an inadvertent stall/spin.
More accidents in AZ
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Browse: Arizona · 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.
