Bonanza A-36 down near Murfreesboro, TN KMBT airport

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Jim
N15PM, an A36 Bonanza

Appeared to depart Douglasville, GA (DQH) around 1400z, crashed shy of MBT at 1622z

Not an absolutely direct course - flew toward the area of LGC first, possibly to skirt west around the ATL bravo and/or maybe a bit of dissipating, eastward-moving convection around Rome, GA. Then direct from that point. Not a large impact on total distance flown 330-340nm versus a direct distance of 317nm, so maybe 7%-ish additional.

Appeared to cruise at 4500 with a section of 6500 midway through (cloud tops were reported 030-040 in the area), from abeam Columbus GA to the TN state line abeam Huntsville, AL, then back down to 4500 for the remainder until descent. Averaged about 145-152 knots groundspeed.

Winds aloft were roughly forecast to be:

1st third - 3000 - 240@20, 6000 - 250@28
2nd third - 6000 - 250@20
Final third - 3000 - light and variable, 6000 - light northerly (5 kts)

Mostly crosswind component there, very little headwind.

Temps aloft 15-20 at 3000’, 10-15 at 6000’

Engine is listed as an IO-520 series
 
N15PM, an A36 Bonanza

Appeared to depart Douglasville, GA (DQH) around 1400z, crashed shy of MBT at 1622z
The FlightAware track tells a different story from my assumption.
I ASSUMED it was a crash on take off. Winds favored 18. It went into the trees a couple miles off the end of 18.
The track shows him maneuvering for a tailwind landing on 36 after a couple hour flight from Georgia. Right of centerline a few miles to the south of the runway is where flight aware drops. He was at 600 feet, headed west, and descending at 750 fpm if the track info is correct. The last two minutes of flight recorded show from 750 to 1385 fpm descent.
 
Do the back seats only have lap belts? That may be why the one passenger was seriously injured and the other two are listed as uninjured.
Ran one tank dry on the way in, and the switch didn't go well. Probably inadvertently ran it dry, given how much fuel was left in the other tank even after it was breached in the crash.
He should have left his gear up.
FB post about the preliminary report:
 
Text:
*** Preliminary Report ***
N15PM Beech Bonanza A36 Murfreesboro Tennessee 10 JUN 2025
3 POB - 1 Serious & 2 No Injuries
On June 10, 2025, about 1220 central daylight time, a Beech A36, N15PM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The private pilot and a passenger were not injured. A second passenger was seriously injured.
According to the pilot, the flight departed from Douglas Municipal Airport (DQH), Douglas, Florida and was enroute to Murfreesboro Municipal Airport (MBT), Murfreesboro, Tennessee when when a partial loss of engine power occurred. Based on the “stumble” of the engine, he switched from the left fuel tank to the right fuel tank and pushed the mixture control in, which initially “cleared up” the problem. Shortly after, the engine lost power again and the pilot declared an emergency. He quickly assessed that he would not be able to make it to MBT and as a result, he attempted to make a forced landing in a field. He then realized that the field was out of reach and attempted to turn towards a cemetery where he lowered the landing gear, pitched the nose up, and attempted to clear trees. The airplane contacted the trees prior to the cemetery and came to rest nose down, suspended in vegetation.
A postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the left fuel tank contained a small amount of fuel with no evidence of that tank being breached by impact. The right fuel tank was breached and contained about 10 gallons of fuel. The fuel selector was observed to be on the right fuel tank position. The ignition key was observed on “both”; the mixture control, propeller control, and throttle were observed full forward.
The wreckage was retained for further examination.

Images from FB Post:
MBT Bonanza path.jpg
 

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