Beech F35 accident near Middletown, California, February 4, 2003
On February 4, 2003 at about 3:55 pm local time, a Beech F35, registered N3361C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Middletown, California (Spooner Ranch airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to attain an adequate takeoff airspeed and failure to abort the takeoff when the lack of acceleration was apparent.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 4, 2003 · about 3:55 pm local time
- Place
- Middletown, California · Spooner Ranch · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech F35 · all F35s on the register
- Registration
- N3361C · no longer on the register · serial D4028
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with a fence and a house during takeoff. The run-up was normal and he added power for takeoff on the 1,600-foot-long dirt runway. During the takeoff roll, one wheel drifted into softer dirt on the edge of the runway; as a result, the airplane slowed. The pilot maneuvered the airplane back to the runway and realized he was close to a barbed wire fence. He pulled back on the yoke but the main tires hit the top wire. Shortly thereafter, the airplane impacted a house.
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: 2,470 hours in all; 450 in this make and model; 37 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 2,470 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 24, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,608 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 2002; 111 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,750 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-BA (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVT Middletown CA at 3:55 pm
- Destination: UKI Ukiah CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 1,600 ft by 20 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 100 ft
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from KSTS, 21 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.