Beech V35B accident near Henrietta, Missouri, September 25, 1999
On September 25, 1999 at about 10:49 pm local time, a Beech V35B, registered N3047W, was substantially damaged in an accident near Henrietta, Missouri. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The engine failure due to mismanagement of the fuel system and aircraft control not maintained by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 1999 · about 10:49 pm local time
- Place
- Henrietta, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech V35B · all V35Bs on the register
- Registration
- N3047W · no longer on the register · serial 09547
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that while in level flight, at approximately 1,000 feet above ground level, the engine sputtered, surged, and quit. The pilot reported that he decided that he was going to make his forced landing to an east-west road. The last memory the pilot had of the accident was turning, to the right, in order to line-up with the road. According to a passenger, while the pilot was maneuvering the airplane for the emergency landing she, '...looked out and saw the tops of the trees. It was very shortly after that it felt like something just picked up the left side of the plane and we hit the ground.' The right wing separated during the impact with terrain, rupturing the right main fuel tank. The left main fuel tank remained intact and 14-gallons of fuel was drained from it. The two wing-tip tanks were destroyed during the impact with terrain. A passenger verified that there was fuel present in both wingtip tanks by visually noting the quantity, during the flight, through transparent windows on the wing-tip tanks. Examination of the engine and its fuel system revealed no fuel present in the fuel injection system. No additional anomalies were found with the engine or with the airplane's fuel system. According to the owner of the airplane, there was approximately 60-gallons of fuel on board the airplane when the pilot originally departed Independence Memorial Airport. The owner reported that the fuel was distributed equally in four fuel tanks, two main tanks and two wing-tip tanks. The accident flight was estimated to be 45-minutes in duration.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 16,500 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 4,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,291 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 4, 1998; 189 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,556 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550-B4F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 4K3 Lexington MO at 10:05 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 14 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from MCI, 270 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.
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.