Beechcraft D35 N3469B

Summary

On 4 July 1998 at about 17:45 local time, a Beechcraft D35 registered N3469B was involved in an accident near Driggs, Idaho, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 July 1998 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Driggs, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

43.7301, -111.2210

Aircraft

Beechcraft D35

Registration

N3469B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pocatello → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA98LA120

Nobody was injured.

Excessive pressure in the fuel control unit. A foreign material/substance found on the fuel system screens was a factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while preparing for landing, he turned on to the base leg and reset the mixture, propeller and throttle controls to full forward. At this time the engine experienced a complete loss of power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine with no success. Due to the low altitude, the pilot felt that he could not make it to the runway and opted to land on a dirt road. During the landing roll, the left wing collided with a fence post. Post-crash inspection of the engine found that the spark plugs for two of the cylinders were 'fouled,' and that the piston heads for these cylinders were black and displayed excessive carbon build-up. The fuel metering unit was bench tested. During the test, it was found that at the high RPM setting, both the fuel pump pressure and the fuel flow pressure were excessively out of limits. It was also noted that contamination that appeared to be 'rubber' or a 'gasket-like' material was found on the fuel control valve, and the manifold valve screens. This substance was also found under and around the seat area on the fuel pump. Large amounts of 'particles' were also found inside the pump return fitting.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.