Beech D55 accident near Stallion Springs, California, February 22, 2019
On February 22, 2019, a 1968 Beech D55, registered N533Q, was destroyed in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Stallion Springs, California. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions associated with mountain obscuration conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into rising terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to obtain a weather briefing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 22, 2019
- Place
- Stallion Springs, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Beech D55, built 1968 · all D55s on the register
- Registration
- N533Q · no longer on the register · serial TE-616
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed on a visual flight rules cross-country flight with two passengers. There were no communications with air traffic control, and the flight did not arrive at its intended destination. The wreckage was located the next day on rising, mountainous snow-capped terrain at an elevation of about 6,700 ft mean sea level. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the airplane initially impacted trees and left a distribution path of about 392 ft, which is consistent with controlled flight into terrain. Examination of both engines at the accident site revealed no evidence of a mechanical anomaly that would have precluded normal operation. The propellers from both engines exhibited impact damage with rotational scoring on the cambered surfaces and torsional bending of the blades, and damaged trees around the wreckage exhibited 45° cut sections that appeared to be from the propeller blades, consistent with the engines producing power at the time of impact. There were no records of the pilot obtaining a weather briefing or filing a flight plan before departure; it is unknown if the pilot reviewed other weather sources before the flight. Along the route of flight, the combination of a low-pressure system at the surface and at 500-hPa provided the support for upward vertical motion and the development of rain showers and thunderstorms, with snow showers in higher elevations. Terrain above about 4,600 ft in the vicinity of the accident site was likely obscured in clouds with light freezing conditions and snow about the time of the accident. The available weather reports, forecasts, and advisories depicted the conditions and identified instrument flight rules and icing conditions along the route of flight. Had the pilot obtained a weather briefing for his planned route of flight, he would have been aware of the weather hazards, and alternate routing may have allowed for safe operations in visual conditions.
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
What happened, in order
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during enroute (cruise)
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute (cruise) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Weather planning › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Mountainous/hilly terrain › Contributed to outcome
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Obscuration › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,012 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 38 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,965.7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 4, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 654 hours total
- Engine 2: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 3,422 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SBP San Luis Obispo CA
- Destination: WHP Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,900 ft; a few clouds at 600 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.62 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 WPR19FA086.