Beech V35 accident near Mounds View, Minnesota, November 10, 2001
On November 10, 2001 at about 10:20 pm local time, a Beech V35, registered N4890J, was destroyed in an accident near Mounds View, Minnesota (Anoka County/Blaine Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Fuel starvation caused by the pilot's improper positioning of the fuel tank fuel selector while in the traffic pattern, and the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing. Factors relating to the accident were the pilot not complying with the emergency procedures checklist, and the tree.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 10, 2001 · about 10:20 pm local time
- Place
- Mounds View, Minnesota · Anoka County/Blaine Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech V35 · all V35s on the register
- Registration
- N4890J · no longer on the register · serial D-8425
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said they departed Anoka County Airport (ANE) for some touch and go landings. The pilot said they performed two uneventful patterns and landings. As the airplane turned onto final approach for the third pattern, the engine stopped. The pilot recalled there was no roughness or sputtering prior to the complete loss of power. The airplane's flaps were set at 10-degrees and the landing gear was down. An engine restart was attempted with no success. The pilot said, "The landing gear was brought up to increase our glide distance but the airport could not be made. The terrain was wooded with homes interspersed. No good landing areas were apparent so I steered towards the trees rather than the homes. I then made an emergency call to the ANE control tower. We clipped trees with the right wing followed by the left wing. It was a hard impact and I was knocked unconscious soon after that. We landed nose first in a grove of trees close to a detached garage." The passenger in the rear seat said that they had been operating in the traffic pattern approximately 20 to 30 minutes when the engine quit. The passenger said the propeller continued to windmill. They turned base to final. Then the airplane's right wing hit a large tree. The airplane then went straight down. The passenger said as he got out of the airplane, he noted that fire was on the ground all around the airplane. The passenger said that when the airplane's engine quit, he noticed the right seat passenger reach over the pilot to get something. The passenger said the pilot tried to restart the engine, but it wouldn't start. An examination of the airplane's fuel system revealed the fuel selector valve positioned between the left and right tank lines providing no fuel to flow through the valve. An examination of the engine and other airplane systems revealed no anomalies. According to the airplane owner's manual, the Engine Failure checklist reads, "Fuel Selector - CHANGE TO OTHER CELL (check visually)"
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,204 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 3,731 as pilot in command; 3,282 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 3, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,692.5 hours
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ANE Mounds View MN at 9:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 4,855 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.22 inHg
- Observation at 10:20 pm from ANE, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.