FlightFollowerBeech C35 N5946C — Engine Failure, Outdated Airport data and Delayed Diversion
The Flight & Context
On August 16, 2015, a Beech C35, N5946C, was operating an on-demand air taxi flight from Westhampton Beach toward Morristown, New Jersey. The commercial pilot and one passenger were aboard. The pilot was fatally injured and the passenger survived with serious injuries.
Engine Failure
At about 6,500 feet, the passenger heard a loud pop, saw a flicker near the engine and smelled oil. The engine sputtered and lost power. The pilot attempted a restart and reported the problem to ATC, but did not declare an emergency.
The Diversion Problem
The controller provided several nearby airport options. The pilot determined that Republic Airport was closest but believed he lacked sufficient altitude to reach it. The controller then directed the pilot toward Bethpage Airport, which remained displayed on the controller’s radar video map even though the airport had been closed for years and the runway no longer existed.
The pilot repeatedly reported that he could not see the runway. The controller continued providing headings and distances based on the outdated map. The pilot eventually lost the opportunity to reach a suitable runway and the aircraft struck a railroad grade-crossing cantilever arm before coming to rest on railroad tracks.
The Investigation
The NTSB found that the engine crankshaft failed at the No. 2 main journal after bearing heat damage, bearing shift and fretting. The investigation also found that the FAA did not require periodic validation of radar video maps and had no systemwide procedure ensuring that nonoperational airports were removed from those displays at the time.
Toxicology detected amphetamine and other substances. The NTSB concluded that the amphetamine level indicated likely abuse and that the combination of drug use and underlying medical conditions likely impaired psychomotor functioning and decision-making, contributing to the delayed response after the engine failure.
Probable Cause
The NTSB determined that the probable cause was the pilot’s improper decision to delay turning toward a suitable runway after recognizing the engine failure, together with the controller’s provision of erroneous emergency diversion information. Contributing factors included FAA radar-video-map validation shortcomings, the engine crankshaft failure and pilot impairment.
Key Takeaways / Lessons Learned
Emergency information is only as reliable as the system that supplies it. A controller can provide accurate headings to an airport that exists on a display while the physical runway has already disappeared. For pilots, an immediate turn toward a verified reachable landing site preserves options; for organizations, navigation and controller data must be maintained as safety-critical information.
A Beechcraft C35 Bonanza departed Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, New York, at about 7:20 a.m. on August 16, 2015, on an on-demand air taxi flight to Morristown, New Jersey. Twenty-five minutes later, its engine failed over Long Island — and a controller's reliance on outdated airport data sent the pilot toward a runway that no longer existed.
Accident Facts
- Accident
- ERA15FA313
- Date
- August 16, 2015, about 7:45 a.m. EDT
- Aircraft
- Beechcraft C35 Bonanza
- Registration
- N5946C
- Route
- Francis S
- Location
- Hicksville, New York
- Operation
- Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight
- Injuries
- 1 fatal (pilot), 1 serious (passenger)
- Defining event
- Total loss of engine power (fractured crankshaft) during forced landing attempt
The Engine Fails at 6,500 Feet
While cruising at roughly 6,500 feet, the passenger heard a loud pop, saw a flicker of light near the engine, and smelled oil. The engine began to sputter and lost power. The pilot attempted to restart it. It stayed dead.
He notified air traffic control but did not declare an emergency — a choice that would matter later in how the situation was handled.
Vectored Toward a Runway That No Longer Existed
LaGuardia departure control worked to guide the pilot toward the nearest usable airport. The first option, Republic Airport in Farmingdale, was out of reach — the pilot determined he lacked sufficient altitude to glide there. The controller then directed him toward Bethpage Airport, believing it was operational.
It was not. Bethpage Airport had closed years earlier and had been replaced by industrial buildings. The controller's radar video map — the display used to identify airports and terrain — still showed it as an active field. There was no FAA requirement at the time for periodic review of that map data to remove closed airports.
A Runway That Could Not Be Found, Because It Was Not There
The pilot searched for the runway he had been vectored toward. He could not locate it, because the airport itself was gone. With the engine dead, the airplane continued descending over the residential area that now stood where Bethpage's runways once were.
A Railroad Crossing, Not a Runway
The aircraft ultimately struck a railroad grade-crossing cantilever arm before coming down on the tracks. The pilot was killed. His passenger survived with serious injuries.
What the Engine Showed
Examination attributed the power loss to a fractured crankshaft, caused by heat damage and a bearing shift at the No. 2 main journal — a mechanical failure independent of the outdated airport data that shaped what happened next.
A Second Factor the NTSB Would Not Ignore
Toxicology testing found the pilot had used amphetamines, at levels indicating significant impairment, compounded by underlying medical conditions. The investigation treated this as a contributing factor alongside the mechanical failure and the ATC data error — not a single cause, but one link among several.
A Procedural Fix, After the Fact
Following the accident, the FAA revised its procedures to ensure closed airports are promptly removed from radar video maps, intended to prevent controllers from directing another pilot toward a runway that no longer exists.
Sources
NTSB Accident Number ERA15FA313, factual and final reports; Kathryn's Report contemporaneous coverage; FAA daily facility operation records; video.
Primary Source / Investigation Record
Primary Investigation Reference
NTSB accident number: ERA15FA313
Primary investigation report: ERA15FA313