Beech A36 accident near Alton Bay, New Hampshire, February 23, 2025
On February 23, 2025 at about 2:00 pm local time, a 1982 Beech A36, registered N321TB, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Alton Bay, New Hampshire (Alton Bay airport). It was a personal 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 pilot’s failure to maintain an appropriate glide path during the landing approach, which resulted in in the airplane contacting a snowbank short of the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 2025 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Alton Bay, New Hampshire · Alton Bay · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech A36, built 1982 · all A36s on the register
- Registration
- N321TB · registry record · serial E-1998
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was flying a standard traffic pattern to approach an ice runway on a frozen lake. The pilot described that she flew the final approach lower and slower than usual due to the known lack of braking action on the ice. The pilot stated that, based on an online video viewed the night before, she used an icy snowbank as the aiming point for landing. During the approach, the airplane was too low and slow, and the airplane’s nose and right main landing gear contacted the snowbank. The impact resulted in the nose pitching downward and the propeller striking the ice. The airplane then pivoted on the ice and came to rest with the tail positioned in the snowbank on the right side of the displaced threshold, just short of the runway. The airplane’s right wing was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
- Landing area undershoot during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Descent/approach/glide path › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 854 hours in all; 94 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 772 as pilot in command; 373 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 11, 2021
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,473 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 23, 2024; 53 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,700 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550-B89B-1 (piston); 809 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ASH Nashua NH at 1:36 pm
- Destination: B18 Alton NH
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 1, 2,600 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 11,000 ft; a few clouds at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 7:55 am from PSM, 9 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KPSM 231255Z 24009KT 10SM FEW040 SCT060 BKN110 M00/M09 A2998 RMK AO2A SLP156 T10051087
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 3 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photog rap h 1 – White airp lane with b lue and re d strip e s re sting on snowb ank (Courte sy of FAA)
Photog rap h 2 –Front vie w of white airp lane with b lue and re d strip e s re sting on snowb ank (Courte sy of FAA)
Photog rap h 3 – Vie w of rig ht wing of airp lane showing b uckling d amag e (Courte sy of FAA)The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on November 6, 2025. 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, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigative Photos | PDF, 4 pages · our copy | 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.