Beech A36 accident near Farmington, New Mexico, February 3, 2000
On February 3, 2000 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Beech A36, registered N8240U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Farmington, New Mexico (Four Corners Regional airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's excessive remedial action (banking to realign the airplane with the runway). Factors were the student pilot flaring the airplane prematurely and failing to maintain directional control, and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the student.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 3, 2000 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Farmington, New Mexico · Four Corners Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech A36 · all A36s on the register
- Registration
- N8240U · no longer on the register · serial E2665
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
To prepare the student pilot for his first solo flight, the flight instructor retarded the throttle on downwind to simulate a power failure. The instructor said the student flared the airplane high over the runway and added power to adjust the sink rate and banked left 'to return to the centerline.' The airplane landed hard on the left main gear and bounced. The flight instructor took control, aborted the landing, went around and landed uneventfully. Postaccident inspection revealed wingtip, aileron, and rear spar damage.
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: 465 hours in all; 55 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 55 in the last 30 days; 400 as pilot in command; 120 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,632 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 30, 2000; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,650 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550-B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FMN at 2:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 7, 6,704 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:54 pm from FMN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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 N8240U the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.