Beechcraft 95-C55 N3774Q

Summary

On 22 November 1996 at about 00:36 local time, a Beechcraft 95-C55 registered N3774Q was involved in an accident near San Diego, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 November 1996 at 00:36

Classification

Accident

Location

San Diego, California, United States

Nearest airport

Brown Field (SDM)

Coordinates

32.5498, -117.0408

Aircraft

Beechcraft 95-C55

Registration

N3774Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Imperial → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97FA049

1 person died.

the pilot's lack of situational awareness (becoming lost/disoriented during the approach), his failure to fly the approach as charted, and his failure to maintain aircraft control, while attempting an abrupt turn toward the airport, which led to an inadvertent stall/spin. The pilot's lack of recent instrument experience was a related factor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot (plt) got 2 weather (wx) briefings & was advised of deteriorating IFR wx in the destination area. When he filed an IFR flight plan, he told the briefer that he did not have his charts; the briefer looked up the airway designations & fixes for the plt. Near the destination, TRACON told the plt the airport (arpt) was below minimums, & that 3 aircraft (acft) had made missed approaches without seeing the ground. The controller then suggested nearby arpts that were above approach minimums as alternates. The plt said his car was parked at the arpt, & he wanted to make the approach. Radar data disclosed the acft flew the approach segments at least 1,000 higher than the charted altitudes at speeds between 180 & 155 kts. The acft overflew the missed approach point & arpt, then crossed the adjacent US/Mexico border before ATC could instruct the plt to make an immediate missed approach. The plt responded on the radio 'I guess I don't know where I am.' Radar data showed the acft climbing & descending rapidly as it reversed course, then descend to 300 ft agl as it neared the west arpt boundary. The plt transmitted that he thought he had the arpt in sight. Four seconds later, the acft impacted the departure end of the runway. Ground witnesses observed the acft in cloud bases, & they noted that it narrowly missed a building; it then turned sharply toward the runway before descending steeply to ground impact. The pilot's logbook did not show that he had met instrument currency requirements of 14 CFR 91.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.