Beech BE-P35 accident near Aiken, South Carolina, October 25, 2004
On October 25, 2004 at about 12:27 pm local time, a Beech BE-P35, registered N32AB, was destroyed in an accident near Aiken, South Carolina (Aiken Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to follow IFR procedures, and continued flight below the minimum descent altitude and collided with trees.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 25, 2004 · about 12:27 pm local time
- Place
- Aiken, South Carolina · Aiken Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-P35
- Registration
- N32AB · registry record · serial D-6974
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Upon arriving in the Aiken area, the pilot was cleared for the GPS Runway 06 approach by Air Traffic Control. The airplane collided with trees about 4,175 feet short of runway 06 and about 340 feet left of the published inbound approach course. The airport manager estimated the Aiken weather at the time of the accident was at 200- foot ceiling with 1/4-mile visibility. The GPS Runway 06 approach plate showed that the Minimum Decent Altitude (MDA) was 900 feet Mean Sea Level (MSL) or 386 feet Above Ground Level (AGL), and the minimum weather conditions required to land was 400-foot ceiling with one statute mile of visibility. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 30,000 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model
- Last flight review: November 1, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,992.7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2004; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,125 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470N (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: SPA Spartanburg SC at 11:48 am
- Destination: AIK Aiken SC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 06, 5,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 310° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 300 ft; clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 12:13 pm from DNL, 24 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.