On January 20, 1982, a Beech 58 (registration N9395Q) operated by B & D Aircraft was involved in an aviation accident near Cherry Valley, CA. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
An aircraft departed for a visual flight rules trip to Fresno despite weather forecasts warning of obscured mountains and instrument meteorological conditions in the Sierra Nevada.
What happened
The pilot received a pre-flight weather briefing at 0702 for a planned VFR flight to Fresno. The area forecast issued at that time included specific flight precautions regarding obscured mountains and the potential for IMC in the Sierra Nevada, along with occasional moderate icing below 15,000 feet MSL. The aircraft departed at 0728. During the flight, the aircraft made an initial impact on the top of a ridge at an altitude of approximately 3,500 feet MSL.
The investigation
The source text does not provide details regarding mechanical examination or post-accident inspection findings.