ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 165145
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| Date: | Saturday 29 March 2014 |
| Time: | 20:17 |
| Type: |  Beechcraft S35 Bonanza |
| Owner/operator: | private |
| Registration: | N8985M |
| MSN: | D-7314 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1964 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5025 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental IO-520-B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Near The Florida Keys Marathon Airport (KMTH), Marathon, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Umatilla, FL (X23) |
| Marathon, FL (MTH) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot stated that after takeoff the flight proceeded IFR towards the destination airport (The Florida Keys Marathon Airport), Marathon, Florida. He cancelled his IFR clearance, and performed the pre-landing checklist. While on the base leg over water during the dark night, he became distracted by the failure of the landing light. With the landing gear and flaps extended for landing but the power set to 15 inches of manifold pressure, he did not recognize the airplane was descending. When the airplane impacted the water he thought they were at 1,000 feet. He also stated that he attempted to activate the runway lights using the common traffic advisory frequency but stated he could not see them. In hindsight he stated that he must have been too low at that time to see the runway lights.
According to the County of Monroe Assistant Director of Airports, the runway lights at The Florida Keys Marathon Airport come on automatically at night and remain on "step 1." Being a 14 CFR Part 139 airport, a complete night inspection is performed each Friday and Monday, and each working day in the morning a continuous inspection is performed on the runway lighting circuit. As noted in the Daily Self Inspection Reports, the airfield runway lights were functioning properly during the course of the weekend and there were no issues with the runway lighting system. The runway end identifier lights for runway 7 were out of service at that time.
Probable Cause: The pilot's distraction in the cockpit while on a visual approach over water during a dark night resulting in the airplane descending until impact with the water.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=8985M
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N8985M
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Apr-2014 00:06 | Geno | Added |
| 01-Apr-2014 01:13 | bizjets101 | Updated [Total fatalities, Narrative] |
| 07-May-2014 05:12 | Geno | Updated [Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 29-Nov-2017 13:47 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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