Beechcraft C24 N5063M

Summary

On 10 October 2010 at about 23:00 local time, a Beechcraft C24 registered N5063M, operated by Max Coates, was involved in an accident near Blanding, Utah, 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

10 October 2010 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Blanding, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Blanding Municipal Airport (BDG)

Coordinates

37.5833, -109.4831

Aircraft

Beechcraft C24

Registration

N5063M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Max Coates

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Blanding → Salt Lake City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11LA013

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to attain a climb gradient sufficient to clear the rising terrain, which resulted in his decision to make a forced landing on a road.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before departure, the pilot calculated the density altitude and the required takeoff distance. Due to density altitude considerations, he did not fill the fuel tanks to capacity. His calculations indicated that the required runway length was as at least 2,000 feet less than the available 5,781-foot-long runway. After the airplane lifted off, and the pilot observed a positive rate of climb, retracted the flaps to zero, and selected the landing gear to the retracted position. However, the landing gear did not retract. Due to rising terrain directly ahead, the pilot decided to make a forced landing to a road. On short final, the airplane drifted to the right and the left main landing gear struck a chain link fence. The airplane came to rest upright in a watermelon patch. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. According to the airplane manufacturer, for the prevailing ambient conditions, the airplane was capable of climbing 227 feet per minute.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.