Accident Details
On May 3, 2019, at about 1130 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 35 airplane, registration N2839V, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an occurrence near Deer Park, Washington. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight was operated as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The pilot reported that he was practicing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. Shortly after departure, while climbing through about 400 ft above ground level and in a right turn, he heard a loud bang and felt a vibration. The vibration then ceased, and the pilot continued to his intended destination without further anomalies.
Damage Examination
Federal Aviation Administration inspectors examined the airplane and found no evidence that a bird or other object had struck it. Substantial damage was noted to the aft right fuselage between approximately fuselage station (FS) 200 and FS 256. The fuselage skin exhibited diagonal buckling, several stringers were bent or deformed, and at least three fuselage bulkheads were fractured or deformed. Opposing diagonal buckles or skin fractures in an “X” pattern were observed at multiple locations on the fuselage skin, coinciding with stringer or bulkhead positions. No obvious damage was noted on the left side of the fuselage.
An NTSB structures engineer reviewed photographs of the damage and determined that it was consistent with an empennage flutter event. The airplane was not available for further examination, and maintenance records were not available for review.
Previous History
The accident airplane had been involved in two previous empennage flutter events, occurring in August 1996 and April 1997.