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MKC85FCQ02 · Beech 35-B33

17 Apr 1985 · Lakin, KS, United States

Beech 35-B33 · Accident: total loss of engine power (non-mechanical) during initial climb

From Kearny County Airport (36K) to Dodge City Regional Airport (DDC)

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Event

NTSB case
MKC85FCQ02
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
0 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Beech 35-B33

Aircraft type
Beechcraft 35
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N5654K
Operator
Unknown
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Kearny County Airport (36K), Lakin, KSTo Dodge City Regional Airport (DDC), Dodge City, KS
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Initial climb
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Total loss of engine power (non-mechanical)
Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
Fuel starvation
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Substantial

Cause areas

  • Pilot in command › Aircraft preflight, improper
  • Pilot in command › Emergency procedure, inadequate
  • Pilot in command › Fuel tank selector position, improper use of
  • Pilot in command › Judgment, poor
  • Pilot in command › Preflight planning/preparation, improper
  • Pilot in command › Refueling, not performed
  • Pilot in command › Remedial action, not attained

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

THE ACFT ATTAINED APRX 200 FT OF ALT AFTER TAKEOFF BEFORE THE ENG WAS HEARD CHANGING SOUND BEFORE THE POPPING & BACKFIRING BEGAN, ACCORDING TO WITNESSES. AFTER ALL ENG SOUNDS CEASED THE ACFT DESCENDED RAPIDLY TO A GRASSY AREA OF THE ARPT & LANDED WITH THE LNDG GEAR & FLAPS FULLY RETRACTED. THE ACFT SLID APRX 180 FT FROM INITIAL IMPACT TO A STOP;AFTER ROTATING 180 DEGREES THE ACFT ENDED THE SLIDE FACING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. POST ACC EXAM REVEALED ALL ENG CONTROLS FULL FWD. THE ENG FUEL SELECTOR WAS ON THE RT TANK. THE ACFT WAS RAISED AND TANKS DRAINED. THE RT FUEL TANK HAD.APRX 1 CUP OF FUEL IN IT. THE LEFT TANK HAD APRX 25 GALLONS. NO BREAKS OR LEAKS IN THE FUEL SYS WERE FOUND. THE FUEL LINES & FUEL CONTROL CONTAINED NO FUEL. THE ACFT WAS LAST SERVICED WITH FUEL ON 4/16/85, THE DAY BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. THE PLT STATED THAT NO FUEL WAS ADDED ON THE 17TH,THE DAY OF THE ACC.

Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record MKC85FCQ02
Event ID
20001214X36281
Case number
MKC85FCQ02
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: 6b9276d1b0e725aae2bdf40421d9f06c4a6c9d69d7d3053089577c9ec9dc978c; retrieved 2026-09-21T17:18:55.492Z.