Beech 95-B55 accident near San Carlos, Arizona, June 3, 1997
On June 3, 1997 at about 5:40 pm local time, a Beech 95-B55, registered N8KB, was destroyed in an accident near San Carlos, Arizona. It was a public-use flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which led to an inadvertent stall/spin.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 3, 1997 · about 5:40 pm local time
- Place
- San Carlos, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 95-B55 · all 95-B55s on the register
- Registration
- N8KB · registry record · serial TC-1404
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Public-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft was on a routine fire reconnaissance patrol. There were no eyewitnesses to the accident. Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) radar data showed no primary or secondary targets at or above 3,000 feet AGL. No record was found that either crew member initiated an emergency transmission. No weather phenomena was observed by any source in the area. The aircraft crashed at the apex of a river bed in a narrow canyon at an elevation of 5,620 feet MSL, and came to rest on a sandbar with a measured 400-foot radius bend in the river. The wall on the west side of the river rises steeply to about 6,100 feet MSL, and the terrain on the east side rises to equal heights over a slightly longer horizontal distance. The trim speed of the aircraft was computed by Beech Aircraft at 120 knots based on the elevator trim tab position in comparison to the gross weight and CG. A 73-degree bank angle is required for the aircraft to make a 400-foot-radius turn at 120 knots. The aircraft stall speed at that bank angle is 111 knots. An extensive postcrash fire consumed the aircraft and no ground scars were observed outside of the immediate area of the main wreckage. According to a Hartzell Propeller report, both propellers were operating symmetrically at blade angles in the governed range during the impact sequence. No preimpact failures or system/component malfunctions were found. A review of past reconnaissance flights over this same route disclosed that the flight's position reports and computed ground speed was consistent with all past flights.
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: 1,610 hours in all; 110 in this make and model; 85 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 1,510 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,594 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 24, 1997; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: US Dept Of Interior
The flight
- Departed from: 4A27 AZ at 5:07 pm
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 171°F (77°C), dew point 133°F (56°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX97GA198.