Pilot Debrief

BEECH K35 near Sylacauga, AL — 2025-07-16

Investigation ongoingERA25LA269
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Date
2025-07-16
Location
Sylacauga, AL, USA
Airport
SCD
Aircraft
BEECH K35
Registration
N5353E
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

NTSB has not published a probable cause for this accident yet. Preliminary reports describe what happened; the cause is determined later, often 12–24 months after the event.

NTSB narrative

On July 16, 2025, at 1402 central standard time, a Beech K35, N5353E, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Sylacauga, Alabama. The private pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, the airplane had a remanufactured engine installed about 30 hours prior to the accident. The remanufactured engine had experienced maintenance issues with the magnetos, spark plug fouling, and abnormal cylinder temperatures with the number four cylinder. Maintenance personnel replaced all of the spark plugs with new spark plugs and maintenance runups were conducted that showed no abnormal operation. After departing on the accident flight, about an hour into the flight, the pilot reported that the number one cylinder head temperature dropped below 300 degrees and was accompanied by a “high” exhaust gas temperature. The pilot contacted air traffic control and attempted to divert to Northeast Alabama Regional Airport (GAD), Gadsden, Alabama. The engine began to run rough and the pilot cycled the ignition switch with no change. The pilot declared an emergency, and he was given radar vectors to Merkel Field Sylacauga Municipal Airport (SCD), Sylacauga, Alabama. The airplane could not maintain altitude and he conducted a forced landing into wooded terrain about 1-mile west of SCD. The airplane came to rest inverted and both wings, the fuselage, and the empennage sustained substantial damage. The wreckage was recovered and retained for further examination.

Preliminary NTSB coding

  • Loss of engine power (partial) · Enroute
  • Engine Failure Enroute
View NTSB preliminary report

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