Beechcraft B24R N6511R

Summary

On 17 June 2007 at about 20:54 local time, a Beechcraft B24R registered N6511R, operated by Blaine S Nay, was involved in an accident near Tonopah, Nevada, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 June 2007 at 20:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Tonopah, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Tonopah (TPH)

Coordinates

38.0603, -117.0872

Aircraft

Beechcraft B24R

Registration

N6511R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Blaine S Nay

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tonopah → Cedar City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07LA163

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall during the takeoff initial climb. The pilot's diverted attention to an open door, high density altitude, and wind gusts were contributing factors.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the takeoff initial climb, at approximately 30 feet above ground level and halfway down the runway, the pilot initiated the landing gear retraction. The landing gear legs retracted at different rates, inducing "momentary, but noticeable yaw." Simultaneously with the induced yaw, the pilot side cabin door opened approximately 3 to 4 inches and the pilot felt "a loss of lift" in the aircraft. The aircraft rolled to a right bank of 30 degrees and a nose down attitude of 20 degrees. The pilot attempted to correct for the roll and pitch, but did not have sufficient altitude. The aircraft impacted the ground in a nose-down attitude approximately 300 feet to the right of the runway. Winds reported at the airport at the time of the accident were from 290 degrees at 13 knots, gusting to 25 knots. The density altitude at the time of the accident was 8,400 feet. Post accident inspections by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed nothing remarkable with the aircraft. Both sets of the left and right door latches were found to operate freely and retracted fully when using the internal and external door handles. In 1990, Beechcraft Aircraft Corporation issued a Safety Communique concerning cabin door operation/openings. The Communique states that an open cabin door does not change an airplane's flight characteristics. However, it does state that an aircraft's climb performance can be decreased up to 130 feet per minute from handbook values, and that the decrease in climb performance can be more significant at high density altitudes.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.