Beechcraft BE-35-F35 N5058S

Summary

On 21 July 2001 at about 13:15 local time, a Beechcraft BE-35-F35 registered N5058S was involved in an accident near Bamberg, South Carolina, 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

21 July 2001 at 13:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Bamberg, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Bamberg County (99N)

Coordinates

33.3050, -81.1089

Aircraft

Beechcraft BE-35-F35

Registration

N5058S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bamberg → Beaufort

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA01FA192

1 person died.

the failure of the pilot to maintain airspeed, while attempting a forced landing following a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin, and subsequent impact with the terrain. A factor in this accident was impairment due to drugs/medication.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had flown the airplane in to have maintenance performed at the airport, on June 12, 2001, and returned to pick up the airplane on the morning of July 21, 2001. There was no one at the airport that could say they observed the pilot perform a pre-flight inspection before he got into the airplane. He departed about 2 minutes after paying his bill. Witnesses heard a rough running engine, and observed the airplane reach an altitude of 200-300 feet above ground level, clear wires at the departure end of the runway, turn to the left with the left wing almost perpendicular to the ground, the nose went down, the airplane impacted into a cotton field and burst into flames. A witness said, "it stalled and came straight down." Examination of the engine did not disclose evidence of mechanical malfunction. Toxicology test showed that the following drugs were found in the pilot's blood, liver, and kidney: Propoxyphene, Norpropoxyphene, Fluoxetine, and Norfluoxetine. Medical records revealed that the pilot was taking prescribed medication for "frequent or severe headaches." It is likely that the pilot was impaired at the time of the accident by the effects of propoxyphene, and possibly by the effects of narcotic dependence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.