Beech D35 accident near Cedar City, Utah, December 20, 1990
On December 20, 1990 at about 1:15 am local time, a Beech D35, registered N2911B, was destroyed in an accident near Cedar City, Utah. 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DUE TO INDUCTION SYSTEM ICING. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITION, AND A BLOCKED INDUCTION AIR FILTER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 20, 1990 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Cedar City, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech D35 · all D35s on the register
- Registration
- N2911B · registry record · serial D-3555
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO MISS AND EVENTUALLY LOST POWER. THE AIRPLANE WAS IN IMC WITH VISIBLE SNOW AND ICE CRYSTALS. AN EMERGENCY LANDING WAS MADE AT NIGHT IN AN OPEN/ROUGH FIELD AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DAMAGED DURING THE LANDING ROLL. DURING A POST CRASH ENGINE INSPECTION, ICE WAS FOUND ABOVE THE THROTTLE VALVE AND BELOW THE DISCHARGE NOZZLE IN THE CENTER OF THE CARBURETOR THROAT AT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. THE CARBURETOR WAS EQUIPPED WITH ALTERNATE AIR.
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: 6,212 hours in all; 2,815 in this make and model; 53 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,725 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental E-225-8 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HLN Helena MT at 9:10 pm
- Destination: SGU St George UT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 220° at 18 knots, gusting 26
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.29 inHg
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.
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 SEA91LA036.