Beech B36TC accident near Laporte, Texas, August 20, 2018
On August 20, 2018 at about 11:20 am local time, a 1984 Beech B36TC, registered N6860W, was destroyed in an accident during initial climb near Laporte, Texas (La Porte Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The loss of engine power due to a torn intercooler hose that resulted in an overly rich fuel mixture, which, when combined with the pilot's activation of the auxiliary fuel pump, flooded the engine.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 2018 · about 11:20 am local time
- Place
- Laporte, Texas · La Porte Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech B36TC, built 1984 · all B36TCs on the register
- Registration
- N6860W · no longer on the register · serial EA-411
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was conducting a local flight. He said that during the initial climb, the engine began to make a "weird very loud sound" and that the engine started to lose power. He stated that the "engine noise started to get louder and power was almost gone." When he activated the auxiliary fuel pump, the engine noise became "real loud" and sounded "very deep." The airplane was descending, and the student pilot performed a forced landing near a housing development. During the landing, the right wing separated and the airplane's cabin collapsed inward. Although a Federal Aviation Administration inspector expressed concerns about the exhaust pipe v-band clamp, the nature of those concerns were not conveyed to the NTSB. The airplane's engine was removed and later examined and test run at the manufacturer. During a postaccident examination, the v-band clamp was found to be loose and could have allowed manual rotation of the turbo outlet collar. However, it could not be determined what effect this may have had on the accident. The examination also revealed that the induction hoses to and from the intercooler were both torn. If the induction hose to the intercooler failed in flight, manifold pressure would have dropped immediately, and the noise the pilot heard could have been turbo discharge pressure escaping through the tear in the hose. When the engine lost turbo pressure, the fuel pump would have continued to operate with a much richer mixture because it would not have sensed a loss of induction pressure. When the pilot turned on the auxiliary fuel pump, the engine would have been flooded with excess fuel. Thus, it is likely that the torn induction hose combined with the excess fuel from activation of the fuel pump led to the engine being flooded resulting in the loss of engine power.
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
- Loss of engine power (total) during initial climb defining event
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during emergency descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine fuel and control › Fuel oil cooler › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid management
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Tree(s) › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 63 hours in all; 20 in this make and model; 13 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,103 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 23, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 3,850 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520UB12B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: T41 La Porte TX at 11:20 am
- Destination: T41 La Porte TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12, 4,165 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 170° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 am from EFD, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on June 25, 2019. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Engine Run Report | PDF, 12 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Airworthiness Directive A.D.2018-06-11 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.