Beech 35-33 accident near Monterey, California, October 15, 2000
On October 15, 2000 at about 7:44 pm local time, a Beech 35-33, registered N1344G, was destroyed in an accident near Monterey, California (Monterey Peninsula airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision by which he conducted visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain control of the airplane. Contributing factors were low ceiling, spatial disorientation and lack of instrument rating.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 15, 2000 · about 7:44 pm local time
- Place
- Monterey, California · Monterey Peninsula · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 35-33 · all 35-33s on the register
- Registration
- N1344G · no longer on the register · serial CD-23
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The non-instrument rated pilot, on a special visual flight rules departure clearance, encountered instrument meteorological conditions upon climbing into a layer of clouds. The pilot experienced spatial disorientation, commenced an uncontrolled descending spiral, and impacted the ocean. Prior to departure from the 254-foot msl airport, the pilot had been advised of the local weather conditions, which indicated the cloud base was about 700 feet agl, and the weather was deteriorating, with a decreasing ceiling and lowering visibility. A witness observed the airplane takeoff. The witness reported losing sight of the airplane seconds after it entered the base of the overlying marine layer of stratus clouds. Recorded radar data indicates that within 2 minutes the airplane had climbed to about 1,400 feet, whereupon it entered a right graveyard-like spiral from which it did not recover. Other witnesses located on the shoreline or in boats on the bay reported hearing the sound of an airplane in a dive and observed the airplane fly out of the clouds, diving steeply toward the water. The airplane pulled out of the dive, and then rolled inverted while climbing. Upon reaching the apex of its short climb it dropped suddenly into what appeared to be a straight downward dive and descended at a near 90-degree angle straight into the water. At no time did the airplane's engine sound as if it were under stress, faltering, or sputtering. The extensively crushed and fragmented wreckage was recovered from the bay and examined, with no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures 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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,320 hours in all; 2,320 in this make and model; 2,320 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 25, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,335 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2000; 19 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-470-J1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRY Monterey CA at 7:42 pm
- Destination: SAC Sacramento CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 7:54 pm from MRY, 2 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.