Beechcraft A36 N3224Q

Summary

On 8 April 2009 at about 17:00 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N3224Q was involved in an accident near Bullhead City, Arizona, United States. 2 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

8 April 2009 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Bullhead City, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Eagle Airpark (A09)

Coordinates

34.8881, -114.6164

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N3224Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chino → Bullhead City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09LA221

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusting crosswinds and his failure to maintain directional control during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

As the flight approached its destination, the pilot listened to the automated surface observation station weather report at an airport located about 7 nautical miles north of the destination airport. According to the pilot, the wind at the nearby airport was out of the northwest at 10 mph gusting to 15. The pilot stated that he flew over the destination airport and determined that the winds were as reported at the nearby airport. The final approach to Runway 35 appeared normal to the pilot, and he noticed a crosswind presence. The pilot commented that the "airplane was responding as usual, and there was no indication of severe gusting or any unusual wind condition." The pilot said that as the airplane touched down, "an extreme unpredictable northwest dust devil and/or whirlwind hit the front of my airplane causing the airplane to veer to the right." The airplane veered to the right, exited the runway, and impacted bushes adjacent to the runway. The nose landing gear and left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing tip fuel tank and left aileron were bent and wrinkled. About 1 hour before the accident, the reported wind at the nearby airport was from 270 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 18 knots. Near the time of the accident, the reported wind was from 300 degrees at 12 knots, gusting to 22 knots. About 1 hour after the accident, the reported wind was from 300 degrees at 14 knots gusting to 22 knots. Based on the reported gusty northwest winds, it appears likely that what the pilot called a "northwest dust devil and/or whirlwind" was actually a gust of wind from the northwest.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.