Beech G33 accident near Bixby, Oklahoma, March 28, 1997
On March 28, 1997 at about 3:09 pm local time, a Beech G33, registered N166B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bixby, Oklahoma. 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
failure of a number two connecting rod bolt, possibly from being either over-torqued or under-torqued during installation, and failure of the pilot to see-and-avoid the transmission line, while performing a forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 28, 1997 · about 3:09 pm local time
- Place
- Bixby, Oklahoma · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech G33 · all G33s on the register
- Registration
- N166B · registry record · serial CD-1293
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, he had just leveled off at 7,500 feet on a cross-country flight to Little Rock, Arkansas, when the engine started to 'shake violently.' The pilot attempted to return to his departure point, but the engine failed totally. The pilot performed a forced landing, but the airplane impacted a wire on final approach, which subsequently delayed the gear extension, causing the airplane to land with its gear in transit. Postcrash examination of the engine revealed that the number two rod bolt head was in 'relatively undamaged condition.' An FAA Inspector assigned to the accident stated that he believed that the rod bolt was 'either over torqued or under torqued during engine assembly which led to the bolt failure and the number two rod failure well before TBO.' According to the airplane's engine logbook and the pilot's flight log book, the engine had run approximately 604 hours, since being overhauled in August of 1991.
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
- Flight time: 899 hours in all; 72 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,132 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 27, 1996; 72 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RVS Tulsa OK at 2:45 pm
- Destination: LIT Little Rock AR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from TUL, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.