Beech 300 accident near Tucson, AZ
On January 23, 2017, a Beech 300 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Tucson, AZ. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 23, 2017
- Place
- Tucson, AZ
- Aircraft
- Beech 300 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 32.116°N, 110.941°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170123X71328
Official records · WPR17FA057
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn January 23, 2017, about 1233 mountain standard time, a Beech 300 airplane, N385KA, was destroyed when it impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from runway 11L at Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, Arizona. The airline transport pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by KAAZ, LLC under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the cross-country personal flight to Hermosillo (MMHO), Sonora, Mexico. A witness, who was located about 0.7 mile southwest of the midfield of runway 11L observed the airplane take off and rapidly pitch up during the initial climb. He stated that after reaching an altitude of between 100 to 150 ft above the runway, the airplane suddenly yawed to the left while maintaining a nose-up pitch attitude. The airplane then appeared to slow down that the witness believed it was about to stall. The left wing dropped, the airplane rolled left to the inverted position as the nose dropped, and the airplane struck the ground inverted. Another witness, who was located near the approach end of runway 11L, described the airplane yawing from left to right while climbing. The airplane then rolled left and eventually became inverted, in a manner he described as similar to a barrel roll. The airplane then exited his field of view. A surveillance camera, located on the roof of the terminal building 0.2 mile northwest of the impact point, captured the airplane entering
Probable cause
The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment by the effects of a combination of psychoactive substances.
More accidents in AZ
- De Havilland DHC-6-300, Sep 27, 1989
- Cessna 402C, Jun 19, 1992
- Piper PA-31-350, Aug 17, 1983
- Piper PA-31-350, Feb 13, 1995
- Cessna 421C, Sep 2, 1995
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.
