Beech E35 accident near Blowing Rock, NC
On April 8, 2002, a Beech E35 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Blowing Rock, NC. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 8, 2002
- Place
- Blowing Rock, NC
- Aircraft
- Beech E35 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.151°N, 81.615°W
- NTSB ID
- 20020412X00511
Official records · ATL02FA077
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 8, 2002, at 1115 eastern daylight time, a Beech E35, N3292C, registered to and owned by the private pilot, collided with mountainous terrain and caught fire near Blowing Rock, North Carolina. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot received fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight departed Hickory Regional Airport, Hickory, North Carolina, at 1057 on April 8, 2002. According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, witnesses in the vicinity of the accident site reported hearing the airplane flying in a valley between two mountain ridges. Witnesses also reported low clouds and rainy weather conditions in the area at the time of the accident. The wreckage was located in a wooded area at the 3,600-foot level of a mountain ridge. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot held a private pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land issued on April 8, 1993. The pilot held a third class medical certificate issued on July 24, 2001, with the limitation "holder shall possess glasses for near and intermediate vision." The pilot's logbook was not recovered for examination. According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the pilot reported 2,000 total civilian flight hours on his application for the third class medical certificate. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The airplane was a Beech E35, serial number D-3959, manufactured in 1954. It was a fixed-wing single-engine airplane powered by a Continental E-225-8, 225 horsepower, reciproc
Probable cause
The pilot's continued VFR flight in to known IMC, which resulted in an in-flight collision with trees in mountainous terrain. A factor was low ceiling.
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Browse: North Carolina · 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.
