Beechcraft C35 N747MT

Summary

On 14 November 2010 at about 18:30 local time, a Beechcraft C35 registered N747MT, operated by Bruce Cummings, was involved in an accident near Enterprise, Oregon, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 November 2010 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Enterprise, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

45.2369, -118.3011

Aircraft

Beechcraft C35

Registration

N747MT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Bruce Cummings

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Walla Walla → Enterprise

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11FA047

1 person died.

The noninstrumented pilot’s inadequate weather planning, which resulted in his failure to maintain visual flight while maneuvering under low ceilings in rainy and foggy conditions and his subsequent failure to maintain clearance from mountainous terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noninstrumented pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. Family members reported the airplane overdue, and it was located the next day in rough, mountainous terrain near the last radar target that matched the airplane's likely flightpath. The airplane initially impacted trees and then fragmented along the 80-yard-long wreckage distribution path. Instrument to marginal visual flight rules (VFR) conditions due to low ceilings prevailed around the accident site about the time of the accident. A tribal police officer who was patrolling in the area where the wreckage was located about the time of the accident reported that the weather conditions were windy, rainy, and foggy. The closest weather reporting station to the accident site reported a ceiling overcast about 400 feet above ground level. A series of airmen's meteorological informations were current for the region for instrument flight rules and mountain obscuration conditions. No evidence was found indicating that the pilot received any weather briefings before or during the accident flight; if a briefing from a flight service station had occurred, it likely would not have recommended VFR flight in the area. Data extracted from a handheld GPS onboard the accident airplane revealed that the airplane's flight track included numerous course changes, circles, and altitude changes consistent with a pilot attempting to maintain visual flight in marginal or instrument conditions. The pilot's toxicology report identified more than one benzodiazepine, including diazepam and nordiazepam, in the blood and liver; however, the levels were low. Therefore, the pilot was likely not impaired from the medication at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.