Beech A36TC incident near Lafayette, Indiana, September 24, 1984
On September 24, 1984 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Beech A36TC, registered N305MM, suffered minor damage in an incident near Lafayette, Indiana (Lafayette airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 24, 1984 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Lafayette, Indiana · Lafayette
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech A36TC · all A36TCs on the register
- Registration
- N305MM · registry record · serial EA 188
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT WHEN HE LEVELED OFF AT 3000 FT MSL, THE AUX FUEL BOOST SWITCH WAS STILL ON, SO HE SWITCHED IT 'OFF.' WHEN THE SWITCH WAS TURNED OFF, THE ENG BEGAN TO RUN WITH A BIT OF VIBRATION, SO HE RETURNED THE SWITCH TO 'ON' & LEFT IT IN THAT POSITION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FLT. THE EN ROUTE PORTION OF THE FLT WAS UNEVENTFUL. DURING A DESCENT THRU 2300 FT, IN IFR CONDITIONS NEAR THE DESTINATION, THE ENG STOPPED RUNNING. THE PLT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENG. HE REPORTED THAT THE ACFT BROKE OUT OF THE OVERCAST AT A LOW ALT. THE PLT SAW A SUITABLE FIELD & LANDED, BUT THE ACFT RECEIVED MINOR DAMAGE. THE ENG OPERATED NORMALLY DURING A RUN-UP. NO REASON FOR THE LOSS OF POWER WAS IDENTIFIED.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 669 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TSIO-520-UB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MDW Chicago IL at 2:00 pm
- Destination: LAF Lafayette IN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:49 pm from LAF, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N305MM the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI84IA404.