If the airplane broke up, it broke up due to over stress. The over stress may have happened because the aircraft flew into weather that had such extreme updrafts and downdrafts that it broke the airplane, but it is more likely that the pilot got into a spiral and overstressed the airplane trying to recover.

Beech spars are aluminum. The AD (Airworthiness Directive) that V-Tail mentioned refers to the front spar carry through structure in the fuselage. From memory, I believe there is a recurrent inspection required on the wing attach bolts as well. Additionally, there was an AD on the ruddervators (the V-Tail that replaces the vertical and horizontal stabilizers as well as the rudder and elevators). The earlier versions had their V speed’s reduced and the airspeed indicator had to be remarked. The later versions had to have a cuff applied which tied the leading edge of fixed portion of the V-Tail to the fuselage. From memory, there was a period where some broke up and it was determined that the ruddervators departed before the wings and that’s where that AD came from.

The Bonanza family of airplanes are great. They are fast, efficient, comfortable, and well built. The Travel Air is our family cruiser and has been for almost thirty years. However, these airplanes have an interesting and unforgiving property. They have strong, positive stability in pitch, they have *negative* dynamic stability in roll, and they are relatively “slippery” aerodynamically.

One of these aircraft, disturbed from level flight, will continue to roll in the direction disturbed, not tend to self correct and roll back to level. The pilot must maintain control of the aircraft.

An exercise I do with new Bonanza pilots is as follows: in good VFR weather, at an adequate altitude, clear the area, trim the airplane for stable slow flight, then put your hands in your lap and your feet on the floor.

It may be a gust, a little turbulence, or if the air is dead still it may be an eventual fuel imbalance, but one wing or the other will drop a bit. The airplane will yaw toward that side, the other wing will speed up, and the airplane will roll more in the same direction. As the airplane rolls, more of the lift becomes a horizontal component of lift rather than a vertical component of lift. (Lift is always perpendicular to the wings. When banked, the horizontal component of lift turns the airplane, the vertical component of lift opposes gravity and works to keep the bird aloft). No energy has been added, pitch hasn’t been increased to increase total lift so the vertical component is equal to the prior total lift which kept the airplane level at the same altitude when the wings were level and all lift was vertical. Because there is less vertical lift, the airplane starts to descend and the nose starts to drop. Because the airplane is slippery and descending, it accelerates. Because the airplane is trimmed for a slower speed, the trim system increases the pitch to maintain the trimmed speed. This increases the G load on the airplane. It also increases the horizontal component of lift and tightens the turn. The airplane continues to roll more and pitch more in the same direction.

As the student and instructor are watching for traffic, they are also watching airspeed and angle of bank. Before reaching 60 degrees angle of bank or maneuvering speed, whichever comes first, the student reaches up grabs the yoke, rolls wings level, then lets go of the yoke. The trim induced pull-up and resulting Gs always make an impression on the student.

I’ve never had a student who after doing the exercise didn’t viscerally understand that if they ever found themselves in a spiral out of cruise flight they need to do three things very quickly, and ideally simultaneously: Roll wings level, maintain positive forward pressure on the yoke against the trim only slowly allowing the yoke to come back, and chop the power to idle. You have to get out of the spiral, avoid pulling excessive Gs in the recovery, and stop adding energy.

There was a time when Bonanzas were referred to as “Forked Tailed Doctor Killers.” This was because pilots who had more success in their business and confidence than aviation experience bought more airplane than they were ready to handle. There were doctors, but there were other professions represented as well.

One of my all time favorite posters is one which has a Curtis JN Jenny stuffed into a dead tree and reads “Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity, or neglect.”

ETA: Another thing I teach Bonanza pilots - if you have any question about your ability to control the airplane in the weather you are in, at least consider slowing to gear extension speed and dropping the gear. A Bonanza with the gear out is almost a different airplane. It is more stable, the drag is significantly higher, and it will be much slower to “get away” from the pilot.

These are great traveling machines and many love them for their speed. There are times when sacrificing some of that speed is a good idea.

Excellent post by slosig. Re the spiral recovery, I taught it the same way, with emphasis on maintaining forward pressure on the yoke after neutralizing the bank angle (completely counterintuitive) to minimize the G-load as the pitch trim system brings the nose up to decrease the airspeed.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:

ETA: Another thing I teach Bonanza pilots - if you have any question about your ability to control the airplane in the weather you are in, at least consider slowing to gear extension speed and dropping the gear. A Bonanza with the gear out is almost a different airplane. It is more stable, the drag is significantly higher, and it will be much slower to “get away” from the pilot.

I also teach that if it is a problem slowing to gear extension speed, just go ahead an lower the gear. The gear extension speed is not a limit on the landing gear itself, any damage done will be confined to the gear doors, which are much cheaper to replace than the lives on board.

Great info in this thread. Thanks for the detailed explanations! I find it fascinating.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I also teach that if it is a problem slowing to gear extension speed, just go ahead a lower the gear. The gear extension speed is not a limit on the landing gear itself, any damage done will be confined to the gear doors, which are much cheaper to replace than the lives on board.

Excellent point Sir!

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
Seems he was trying to deviate around a convective cell at the time of the accident. From what I saw the weather didn’t seem terrible, but there were cells near that one wouldn’t want to mess with.

It seems he was a Dr from LA, the State.

https://www.wafb.com/2024/05/1...-killed-plane-crash/

Yep he was a Dr. here in Baton Rouge a very said deal.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Excellent post by slosig. Re the spiral recovery, I taught it the same way, with emphasis on maintaining forward pressure on the yoke after neutralizing the bank angle (completely counterintuitive) to minimize the G-load as the pitch trim system brings the nose up to decrease the airspeed.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:

ETA: Another thing I teach Bonanza pilots - if you have any question about your ability to control the airplane in the weather you are in, at least consider slowing to gear extension speed and dropping the gear. A Bonanza with the gear out is almost a different airplane. It is more stable, the drag is significantly higher, and it will be much slower to “get away” from the pilot.

I also teach that if it is a problem slowing to gear extension speed, just go ahead an lower the gear. The gear extension speed is not a limit on the landing gear itself, any damage done will be confined to the gear doors, which are much cheaper to replace than the lives on board.

Yep, I was taught to lower the gear and slow it down.
And watch the ROC indicator and keep the negative Gs off the wing.
Bonanzas will rear the tails off too from torsion stress.

quote:

Originally posted by charlie12:

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
Seems he was trying to deviate around a convective cell at the time of the accident. From what I saw the weather didn’t seem terrible, but there were cells near that one wouldn’t want to mess with.

It seems he was a Dr from LA, the State.

https://www.wafb.com/2024/05/1...-killed-plane-crash/

Yep he was a Dr. here in Baton Rouge a very said deal.

the v35 has killed many doctors over the years!!

quote:

Originally posted by airbubba:

the v35 has killed many doctors over the years!!

There were 873 V35 models built. This model was produced in 1966 and 1967.

Juan Browne's 13-minute video:

https://youtu.be/2NJWTzhDiSo