Beech BE-D35 accident near Decatur, Alabama, August 6, 2005
On August 6, 2005 at about 3:45 pm local time, a Beech BE-D35, registered N3468B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Decatur, Alabama (Decatur Regional Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's mismanagement of the fuel supply, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, and subsequent inadvertent stall/spin during the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 2005 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Decatur, Alabama · Decatur Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-D35
- Registration
- N3468B · no longer on the register · serial D-3694
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Shortly after takeoff from the Decatur Pryor Airport, in Decatur, Alabama, witnesses, observed the airplane at about 100 to 150 feet above a tree line near the crash site. The airplane was nose high and slow, and no engine sound was reported. Witnesses stated that the airplane nosed up slightly, rolled left, then pitched nose down and then collided with the ground. The airplane wreckage was located in a heavily wooded area, near a cotton field to the south of the accident site about 5.6 nautical miles southwest of the airport. On scene examination of the accident found the airplane resting on its partially extended landing gear on a 095-degree magnetic heading, with the engine in a 45-degree nose down angle. Examination of the cockpit found the fuel selector on the right fuel tank. Examination of the right fuel tank found it intact with 3 ounces of fuel remaining. There was no fuel found in the engine fuel lines or fuel pump. 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: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,600 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: June 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,553.4 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 2005; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,700 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental E-225-8 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DCU Decatur AK at 3:35 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 5,096 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,500 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from HSV, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.