Beech F33A accident near Taos, New Mexico, May 20, 2011
On May 20, 2011 at about 5:02 pm local time, a Beech F33A, registered N1533Y, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Taos, New Mexico. 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 continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in loss of situational awareness, and a possible encounter with icing conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 20, 2011 · about 5:02 pm local time
- Place
- Taos, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech F33A · all F33As on the register
- Registration
- N1533Y · no longer on the register · serial CE-1249
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot obtained two abbreviated weather briefings prior to departure and initially planned to fly a familiar route over mountainous terrain. The pilot later changed his proposed route of flight to one that would take him further north over the mountains on an unfamiliar path. The pilot did not obtain any additional weather briefings. Had he obtained a weather briefing for his revised flight path, he could have received an AIRMET for mountain obscuration along his route of flight. A review of ground positioning system (GPS) track data revealed that the flight was uneventful until the pilot began to cross over the mountains on a northwesterly heading at 12,500 feet and into instrument meteorological conditions, which witnesses described as a fast, west-to-east moving front that involved mountain obscuration, turbulence, snow, and icing conditions. During the last 4 1/2 minutes of the flight, the pilot began a series of climbing and descending turns that involved increasing and decreasing airspeeds, which was consistent with a loss of situational awareness or disorientation. The last recorded data by an onboard GPS indicated the airplane was at an altitude of 11,279 feet on a heading of 84 degrees at a groundspeed of 81 knots. The airplane impacted heavily wooded, mountainous terrain at an elevation of about 10,700 feet. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane or the engine. Results of postmortem toxicology testing were consistent with the relatively recent use of an impairing antihistamine, which is often used to treat allergies. It is possible that the pilot was impaired by his recent use of the antihistamine, although the role of any such impairment in the accident sequence could not be established.
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
What happened, in order
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during enroute defining event
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute (cruise)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Obscuration › Contributed to outcome
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusio › Situational awareness › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Temp/humidity/pressure › Conducive to structural icing › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,643 hours in all; 1,357 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 0 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: March 9, 2011
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,767 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 10, 2011; 64 hours since
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cont Motor IO 520 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: 33 Yankee INC
The flight
- Departed from: AMA Amarillo TX at 3:36 pm
- Destination: KSKX Taos NM
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,400 ft; scat
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 4:55 pm from AXX, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.