History of Flight
On December 1, 2012, at approximately 1950 central standard time, a Beech P35, registration N1566Z, collided with trees and terrain while maneuvering near a private airstrip near Correctionville, Iowa. The pilot was seriously injured, and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Night, instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated from Grand Island, Nebraska, at an undetermined time.
The pilot and a passenger had flown from Correctionville to Grand Island earlier that day to pick up a second passenger. During the return segment, the pilot received flight following services from the Sioux City Terminal Radar Approach Control (SUX TRACON). At 1938, the pilot advised SUX TRACON that he had the Correctionville Airport in sight, and radar services were terminated. The airplane struck trees and terrain about one-half mile northwest of the airport. A post-impact fire ensued. A motorist and his wife, driving south on a highway, saw a fire on a hillside. While slowing to investigate, they encountered the pilot on the side of the road and called 9-1-1.
Two residents whose home borders the airstrip reported seeing the pilot depart earlier. They were standing in their front yard around 1930 when thick fog rapidly enveloped the area, obscuring the airstrip from view at a distance of about 125 feet. Another resident, visiting friends about one mile east of the accident site, stated the weather was clear at 1800 but fog moved in shortly after, reducing visibility to less than one-quarter mile. He heard an airplane pass low over the house; the engine was "running fast" and the airplane moved slowly, taking "awhile to pass over the house." He never saw the airplane.
The Woodbury County Sheriff noted that first responders were hampered by darkness and fog, with visibility reduced to about 50 feet. The reduced visibility contributed to an accident involving a Correctionville ambulance transporting the pilot and a Moville police car. A second ambulance was summoned to transport the pilot.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 70, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single-engine, multiengine, and instrument ratings, issued February 28, 2010. He also held a second-class airman medical certificate dated December 13, 2011, with the restriction, "Must have available glasses for near vision." The medical certificate was valid for 12 months. At the time of issuance, the pilot estimated his total flight time as 2,400 hours.
Aircraft Information
N1566Z (serial number D-6868), a Beech P35 model, was manufactured in 1961. It was powered by a Continental IO-470-N engine (serial number 52117-D-N), rated at 260 horsepower, driving a McCauley 2-blade, all-metal, constant-speed propeller. According to maintenance records, the last annual and 100-hour inspections were performed on August 30, 2012, at a tachometer reading of 1,812 hours. The airframe had accrued 6,091.6 hours, and the engine had accrued 6,079.8 hours. The engine was overhauled on March 17, 1993, at a tachometer time of 435.3 hours, and had accrued 1,338.5 hours since major overhaul. The altimeter, encoder, and transponder were certified for IFR flight on June 27, 2011.
Meteorological Information
Weather recorded at Sioux Gateway Airport-Colonel Bud Day Field (SUX), Sioux City, Iowa, about 30 miles west of the accident site, included: at 1852, wind 120 degrees at 3 knots, visibility 7 statute miles, clear sky, temperature 4°C, dew point 3°C, altimeter 29.81 inHg. At 2036, wind calm, visibility 5 statute miles with mist, few clouds at 300 feet, temperature 2°C, dew point 1°C, altimeter 29.83 inHg.
Aerodrome Information
Correctionville Airport is an unpublished, unimproved airstrip about two miles south of Correctionville, Iowa. It has a single runway aligned on a magnetic heading of approximately 140-320 degrees. The grass runway is about 2,000 feet long and 120 feet wide, equipped with runway lights. The airport elevation is about 1,200 feet above mean sea level.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident site was about one mile southwest of Correctionville in the 1700 block of Highway 31, and about one-quarter mile northeast of the airstrip. The wreckage lay in a field west of and adjacent to Highway 31. The terrain sloped upward with multiple embankments. The debris path was approximately 200 to 250 feet long, aligned on a magnetic heading of 324°. The initial impact point was a small group of trees at an elevation of 1,122 feet. A portion of the right wing, extended right main landing gear, and parts of the right fuel bladder were at the tree base; fuel odor was present. After striking trees, the airplane impacted a terraced embankment at elevation 1,156 feet. It came to rest on a magnetic heading of 062°. The engine separated at the firewall and lay next to the fuselage, pointed opposite direction. The propeller separated at the flange; both blades showed s-bending and chordwise scratches.
The main wreckage consisted of the fuselage aft of the firewall, the empennage, and the left wing, with extensive fire damage. The landing gear was down, and flaps were extended (amount not determined). Control continuity was partially established. The two passengers were located next to and aft of the trailing edge of the left wing. The altimeter faceplate with Kollsman window was set to 29.80 inHg. No other anomalies were observed during postaccident examination.
Medical and Pathological Information
The pilot succumbed to his injuries on February 11, 2013. Because more than 30 days had elapsed since the accident, his injuries did not meet the criteria for "fatal injury" as defined in Title 49 CFR Part 830.2. Autopsy and toxicology protocols were not performed.
Tests and Research
SUX TRACON confirmed that N1566Z was tracked as a VFR primary target with no transponder-encoder data. Radar detection of an airplane at low altitude was unavailable for that area. Correctionville Airport is not depicted on TRACON radar or on sectional charts.