N8163FBeech A36 · 1991

On January 1, 2025, at 0120 eastern standard time, a Beech A36, N8163F, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Naples Municipal Airport (APF), Naples, Florida. The private pilot and three passengers were not injured. The flight was conducted as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to the pilot, he filed an instrument flight rules flight plan via Leidos Flight Service for a flight from APF to Bartow Executive Airport (BOW), Bartow, Florida. He received an email confirmation, and then received a second email informing him of a route modification. The APF air traffic control tower was closed at his intended departure time of 0100. He was able to contact the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) by telephone for clearance to taxi to the departure end of runway 05, and then for a departure clearance, and void time at 0114.

During the takeoff, the airplane accelerated normally, and the pilot established a positive rate of climb. He then raised the landing gear. The pilot estimated that the airplane was between 100 and 200 ft above the runway when the engine stopped producing power. The airplane felt like the left wing began to stall, so he immediately pushed the control wheel forward. The airplane stabilized but was no longer over the runway, and the pilot maintain a shallow descent to avoid another stall. In seconds, a building appeared, and he had little time to maneuver. The airplane’s left wing struck the corner of the building. The airplane then seemed to rotate 180° nose down, and the left wing scraped another building, and the airplane subsequently came to rest upright, facing the opposite direction of travel.

All occupants egressed and the pilot informed the Miami ARTCC of the accident.

Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane struck a hangar and the airport perimeter fence north-northwest of the departure end of runway 05, before it impacted on a road and slid onto grass. Witness marks consistent with propeller strikes were observed on the road and in the grass. The airplane then impacted the exterior of a maintenance and repair organization’s building and came to rest upright with the inboard trailing edge of the left wing against a palm tree.

Examination of the airplane revealed that the fuselage displayed areas of torn and broken skin, and crush and compression damage. The left horizontal stabilizer was almost completely separated from its mounting position. Only the inboard portion of the left elevator remained attached to the left horizontal stabilizer; the outboard portion of the left elevator was torn from the left horizontal stabilizer and the inboard portion of the elevator.

The left wing displayed wrinkling on its upper surface from the wing root to about midspan. Outboard of the midspan point it was bent almost 90°upward, and displayed crush, compression, and tearing damage along with damage to the left aileron and left wing flap. The right wing also displayed wrinkling on the upper surface from the wing root to a point about 3 ft inboard of the wingtip, where the wing was bent about 15° in an upward direction, and the leading edge displayed crush and compression damage. The right aileron also displayed crush, compression, and bending damage.

The engine with its propeller still attached was separated from its mounting position and came to rest about 5 ft from the left side of the airplane’s nose.

The propeller blades of the 3-bladed constant-speed propeller all displayed curving towards the face of the blade, leading edge gouging, and chordwise scratching. Additionally, one propeller blade’s tip was broken off, a second propeller blade displayed tip curling, and the third propeller blade was missing a section of its tip and displayed S-bending on the outer portion of the blade.

The landing gear selector switch was in the “UP” (stowed) position. The throttle control was found in the “FULL” power position and the propeller control was found in the “HI RPM” position. The mixture control was found in the “RICH” position and the fuel tank selector was in the “RIGHT MAIN” position. The “BAT” and “ALT” switches were in the on position. The “PANEL” switch was in the “LIGHTS” position. The landing light was in the “ON” position, the anti-collision light / beacon switch was in the beacon (BCN) position.

The recorded weather at APF, at 0130, approximately 10 minutes after the accident, included calm winds, 1/4-mile visibility, fog, and a vertical visibility of 100 ft.

The wreckage was retained for examination.