NTSB Factual Report

On October 2, 2001, at 1820 central daylight time, a Beech M35 airplane, N9765R, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during the initial takeoff climb from the Denton Municipal Airport, Denton, Texas. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. The airline transport rated pilot and his pilot-rated passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from the Northwest Regional Airport, Roanoke, Texas, approximately 1810.

According to the pilot and passenger, they flew to Denton from Roanoke (a 10 minute flight) and made a full stop landing. The pilot decided to remain at Denton and perform touch-and-go landings. He departed, flew one traffic pattern, landed and departed again. During the initial takeoff climb from runway 17, the engine began to "surge and lose power." Subsequently, a forced landing was executed to a field. During the forced landing, the airplane contacted fence posts, both wings separated, and the airplane came to a stop upright. The pilot added that the fuel selector was in the right tank position from the time the airplane departed Roanoke until the time of the accident.

An FAA inspector, who examined the airplane at the accident site, reported that fuel was present in each of the airplane's four fuel tanks. A fuel sample was clear and free of contaminants. He added that the oil dipstick indicated 7 quarts.

On October 30, 2001, the Teledyne Continental IO-470-C (1) engine was examined and run in the airframe, under supervision of the NTSB Investigator-in-charge, at Air Salvage of Dallas, Lancaster, Texas. The air intake hoses were checked and observed to be free of obstructions. The cockpit fuel selector was set to the left tank position and the left fuel tank was simulated with fuel that had been drained from the left main fuel tank at the accident site. The engine was started and run for a total of 20 minutes at 1000, 1500, 1800, 2550 rpms. The oil pressure, oil temperature, cylinder head temperature, and fuel pressure gauges were monitored at each rpm setting, and remained within their normal operating ranges. A magneto check was performed at 1800 rpm and a 50 rpm drop was noted for the left and right magnetos. The propeller was cycled at each rpm setting and no anomalies were noted. Red fibrous debris was observed at the main fuel screen; however, it did not completely obstruct the screen.

The airplane's maintenance logbooks were reviewed. On June 22, 2001, the airframe, engine and propeller underwent their most recent annual inspections. At the time of the accident, the airframe had accumulated a total of 4,212.2 hours and the engine had accumulated a total of 1,587.0 hours since major overhaul. No reports of open maintenance discrepancies were found.

NTSB Probable Cause

the loss of engine power for an undetermined reason, which resulted in a forced landing. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.