Beechcraft G35 N4485D

Summary

On 11 October 2015 at about 00:35 local time, a Beechcraft G35 registered N4485D was involved in an accident near South Lake Tahoe, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 October 2015 at 00:35

Classification

Accident

Location

South Lake Tahoe, California, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Tahoe (TVL)

Coordinates

38.8658, -119.9981

Aircraft

Beechcraft G35

Registration

N4485D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1956

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

South Lake Tahoe → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR16FA007

2 people died.

The pilot's inability to maintain airplane control due to an encounter with a downdraft that exceeded the airplane’s climb performance capabilities and resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to depart without obtaining a weather briefing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot and passenger were departing on a personal cross-country flight. During takeoff, witnesses observed that the airplane was struggling to gain altitude and noted that the engine sounded as if it was not producing adequate power. They added that, as the airplane crossed over the airport boundaries, it climbed to about 100 ft above ground level in an excessively high pitch-up attitude. Shortly thereafter, the airplane crossed a ridgeline, entered a nose- and left-wing-low attitude, and impacted the backyard of a residence. While ceiling and visibility were not an issue in this accident, the wind magnitude and changes in wind direction likely affected the flight. Wind gusts were as high as 26 knots around the accident time, and weather observation sites within 3 miles of the accident site all reported large changes in wind direction around the accident time. Although the wind was mainly from the south to southwest, there were times when the wind came from the west and north. This change in wind direction was likely due to mountain wave conditions and wind flow over the mountainous terrain, and these changes in wind direction and gusts likely affected the accident flight and the pilot's ability to control the airplane. Wreckage and impact signatures were consistent with a left-wing-low and nose-low impact. Postaccident examination of the airframe, flight control system, and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the witness observations and the recorded weather data, it is likely that the airplane encountered a downdraft that exceeded the airplane's climb performance, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall. An area forecast, issued about 5 hours before the accident, forecasted southwest wind at 20 knots with gusts to 30 knots for the time surrounding the accident. A terminal aerodrome forecast issued 1 hour before the accident, forecasted wind from 190 degrees at 11 knots gusting to 20 knots. However, there is no evidence that the pilot obtained weather information before the flight, thus he may not have been aware of the gusting wind conditions that affected the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.