NTSB Identification: CEN15FA374
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, August 23, 2015 in El Dorado, AR
Aircraft: BEECH 35 B33, registration: N9704Y
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On August 23, 2015, about 1151 central daylight time, a Beech model 35-B33 airplane, N9704Y, was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain while approaching to land on runway 31 at the South Arkansas Regional Airport (ELD), near El Dorado, Arkansas.. The private pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the landing approach and the flight was operated on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The flight originated from the Florence Regional Airport (FLO), near Florence, South Carolina about 0609.
Preliminary radar flight track data indicated that the airplane departed FLO about 0609 and proceeded on a west-southwest track before turning to a westerly track, and ultimately a west-northwest track toward ELD.
The airplane came to rest in a densely wooded area about 2,200 feet from the approach end of runway 31 at ELD. The trees were estimated to be about 100 feet in height. The accident site was on airport property, but outside of the airport boundary fence. The airplane had impacted in a near vertical attitude as evidenced by the lack of damage to the tall trees. The airplane came to rest in an inverted position and the engine was beneath portions of the fuselage. An outboard section of the left wing was separated and located about 50 feet from the main wreckage. The inboard section of the left wing was located with the main wreckage and still had the flap and aileron attached to it. The right wing was predominately intact and the flap and aileron remained attached. The nose landing gear and the left main landing gear were noted in the extended position. The right main landing gear was in the wheel well. The flaps appeared to be retracted. The tail surfaces were still attached to the aft fuselage and the elevator and rudder remained attached. The fuselage cabin section was almost completely consumed by fire. The airplane was removed from the accident scene for further examination.
The engine cowling was removed and an attempt to rotate the engine was unsuccessful. Following removal of the fuel pump, magnetos, vacuum pump and starter drive adapter from the rear accessory case, the engine was able to rotate freely. The upper spark plugs were removed and exhibited a normal but worn appearance. The engine was rotated and valve movement was verified on all cylinders. Suction and compression were verified on all cylinders except for the no. 2 cylinder. The rocker arms for the no. 2 cylinder were removed and the valves "staked". The engine was again rotated and compression was verified on the no. 2 cylinder. The fuel hoses from the airframe to the mechanical fuel pump, and to the fuel servo were damaged by the post-impact fire. The fuel distribution manifold on top of the engine was intact. The cover was removed and no fuel was observed within the assembly.
The airplane had a two bladed constant speed propeller. The blades were predominately straight with no apparent evidence of rotation at impact. The spinner nose cone was crushed and also had no apparent evidence of twisting.
The airplane's control system was examined. Control continuity was verified from all primary control surfaces (rudder, elevator, right aileron, left aileron) to the cockpit area where cuts in the cables to facilitate wreckage removal had been made. The aileron sprocket from the control yoke was found along with the associated chain/cable assembly. The chain was intact. The cables were intact from the chain to the cuts that had been made for wreckage removal and each cable remained attached to the chain.
The separated portion of the airplane's left wing exhibited a semicircular indentation consistent with a tree strike. The angle represented by the indentation was consistent with an inverted left wing low impact angle. No apparent pre-impact structural defects were identified.
The airplane's instrument panel was destroyed by the post-impact fire.
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Little Rock FSDO-11
Any witnesses should email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.
It happened around 12:15 p.m. Sunday at the South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.
Union County Sheriff Mike McGough said they received a call of a plane going down near the runway in a wooded area.
McGough said area residents reported hearing and feeling the impacts of the crash.
When authorities got to the scene, they found a small, private plane and the pilot, 51-year-old Dr. John Steven Jobe deceased.
Authorities say it's likely Jobe's plane ran out of fuel after having been re-routed because of storms in the area.
The plane crashed about 50 yards outside the airport fence, not far from the runway.
Jobe, a graduate of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, was a doctor of clinical pathology in Florence, South Carolina. According to the Union County, Arkansas coroner Curtis Butterfield, Jobe died of blunt force trauma. His body was sent to Little Rock, Arkansas for an autopsy and toxicology tests.
Jobe was on a 2 week vacation that included stops at the Grand Canyon. Butterfield said Jobe was never married and did not have any children.
He is survived by two brothers and his father.
The crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
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