5 May 2019: Beech 36 A36

5 May 2019: Beech 36 A36 (N6684Z) — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Reno, NV, United States

Probable cause

The pilot’s inability to maintain directional control during landing in gusty crosswind conditions for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On May 4, 2019, about 1915 Pacific daylight time, a Beech A36 airplane N6684Z, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport (RNO), Reno, Nevada. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, he was landing on runway 25 when, despite his right rudder inputs, the airplane veered left off the runway. The airplane continued onto an intersecting runway, striking two runway signs and making a tight 360° turn to the right before stopping. The pilot stated that he was unaware of why he lost directional control of the airplane on the ground. About the time of the accident, the reported wind was from 310o at 15 knots, gusting to 29 knots. The airplane was examined by a certified airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic, under the supervision of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector. No anomalies were noted with the brake system or tires. The airplane was lifted on jacks to facilitate a landing gear examination. During the examination, the rudder pedals moved freely and there was no binding or anything impeding their movement. The left rudder was noted to fully deflect. However, when the right rudder pedal was pushed to the full position, the right rudder was about 5° from full deflection. Additionally, the nosewheel strut assembly exhibited impact damage. The nosewheel would not center and pointed slightly to the right. The investigation could not determine if the nosewheel and rudder were out of alignment before the accident or if their misalignment was due to impact damage.

Contributing factors

  • Attain/maintain not possible

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 310/15kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.