Beech G35 accident near Cross City, FL
On December 21, 2017, a Beech G35 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Cross City, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 21, 2017
- Place
- Cross City, FL
- Aircraft
- Beech G35 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 29.778°N, 83.226°W
- NTSB ID
- 20171222X05541
Official records · ERA18FA056
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 20, 2017, about 1900 eastern standard time (all times are EST), a Beech G35, N354WD, was destroyed when it impacted wooded terrain while maneuvering near Cross City, Florida. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was privately owned and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the planned flight to Melbourne International Airport (MLB), Melbourne, Florida. The flight originated from Enterprise Municipal Airport (EDN), Enterprise, Alabama, about 1715. According to witnesses and radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), earlier during the day of the accident, the pilot flew uneventfully from Guntersville Municipal Airport (8A1), Guntersville, Alabama, to EDN, where he purchased 27.7 gallons of fuel at 1705. A radar target squawking the visual flight rules transponder code of 1200 was identified at 1740 about 30 miles south of EDN and was correlated to the accident airplane. As the target proceeded over Florida in cruise flight, over a period of about 20 minutes, it climbed from 3,400 ft mean sea level (msl) to 7,100 ft msl. It then made two left, 360° turns, followed by a rapid descent to 1,400 ft msl about 1 hour prior to the accident. The target then flew east at varying altitudes below 2,500 ft msl, and then turned south toward Tallahassee, Florida, flying s-turns and descending. The target proceeded south at 1,100 ft msl until 1849, when it flew near a cold front boundary
Probable cause
The pilot's improper decision to continue visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of airplane control.
More accidents in FL
- Grumman G-73T, Dec 19, 2005
- Beech B90, Jan 5, 1994
- Beech B-90, Sep 3, 1999
- Cessna 182B, Feb 7, 1982
- Pilatus Aircraft Ltd PC-12/47, Jun 7, 2012
Browse: Florida · 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.
