Beech S35 N876T accident near Andrews, North Carolina

Probable cause

The pilot’s decision to fly toward rapidly rising, obscured mountainous terrain after departing under visual flight rules at night.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting a personal, cross-country flight. As he approached a planned stop en route to his destination, he diverted to a nearby airport due to deteriorating weather conditions. A witness at the diversion airport reported that the pilot’s first approach was too fast, and he landed on his second attempt. Also, he flew visual traffic patterns contrary to what was published for the runway and toward rising terrain.

Before departing again to resume the flight to the final destination, the pilot obtained a weather briefing by telephone. Based on the preflight weather briefing, the pilot was likely aware of the weather conditions along his route of flight, which included mountain obscuration. The pilot also seemed to be concerned with deteriorating weather conditions approaching the departure airport, which may have rushed him during his departure preparations. The weather at the time of his departure from the diversion airport included visual meteorological conditions; however, the mountainous terrain near the diversion airport was likely obscured with low clouds, rain, and drizzle. He subsequently departed about 4 minutes after the end of civil twilight. He took off and made a slight left turn toward rapidly rising terrain. While climbing, the airplane collided with trees, near the top of a mountain, about 5 miles from the airport.

Postaccident examination of the wreckage found the landing gear extended and the cockpit landing gear switch in the “gear down” position, indicating that the pilot may have forgotten to raise the landing gear after takeoff. Leaving the landing gear extended after takeoff would have reduced the airplane’s climb rate. The pilot had recently purchased the accident airplane and his previous airplane was equipped with fixed landing gear. Examination of the remaining wreckage revealed no evidence of a preexisting mechanical failure or anomaly with the airplane.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA22FA001 for the full record.