Beech B36TC accident near Union City, California, November 25, 2002
On November 25, 2002 at about 2:00 am local time, a Beech B36TC, registered N3242Q, was destroyed in an accident near Union City, California (Palo Alto airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate terrain clearance altitude, which resulted in controlled flight into rising mountainous terrain. Contributing factors were the pilot's loss of situational awareness to his terrain proximity, the dark night, and the localized low clouds that obscured the terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 25, 2002 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Union City, California · Palo Alto · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech B36TC · all B36TCs on the register
- Registration
- N3242Q · no longer on the register · serial EA-405
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with rising mountainous terrain while descending toward the destination during a dark, nighttime VFR approach to the airport about 12 miles south of the accident site. The pilot had requested and was receiving radar flight following service, but he had not requested minimum safe altitude warnings, and that service was not provided. At 1752:55, the pilot contacted the TRACON radar facility and told the controller he was descending out of 5,800 feet inbound to the airport. The controller told the pilot to fly his own navigation to the airport and to maintain VFR. The controller terminated radar flight following service about 1 minute prior to the accident. The airplane was last recorded on radar at 1759:30. At this time, its ground speed had decreased to about 130 knots, its altitude had decreased to 1,700 feet, and the airplane's ground track was about 167 degrees, magnetic. Two ground witnesses were about 1/3 mile from the crash site and reported observing the accident airplane fly by their position; however, their view of the airplane was restricted due to the presence of localized fog, and they had only observed the illumination of the airplane's flashing white strobe light as it flew past their location. Minutes later, they observed the glow of a ground fire in the direction the airplane had been flying. The three closest airports to the accident site that reported their weather conditions were, respectively, 7 miles west-southwest, 8 miles northeast, and 12 miles south-southwest from the accident site. Within 15 minutes of the accident, these three airports reported a clear sky, 5- to 10-mile visibility, and surface wind between 6 and 7 knots. At 1755, the closest airport, which was northeast of the accident site, reported 5 miles visibility, mist, and a temperature/dew point of 9 and 8 degrees, respectively. The on-scene accident investigation revealed that the airplane cruised into 28-degree upsloping terrain, and it was destroyed by impact forces and a post impact fire. The initial impact point was at 1,660 feet mean sea level (msl), about 60 feet below the hilltop south of the site. The bearing between the initial impact point and the main wreckage was 163 degrees. No evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction was found during the wreckage examination. The Safety Board investigator noted that when located on the hilltop south of the impact site, the pilot's destination was visible. No higher elevation exists between the accident site hilltop and the airport.
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: 957 hours in all; 262 in this make and model; 43 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 729 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 1, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,253 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2002; 53 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,850 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-UB (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ONO Ontario OR at 11:00 pm
- Destination: PAO Palo Alto CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.17 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 am from LVK, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.