N8350DBeech J35 · 1958

On August 27, 2024, about 1845 mountain daylight time, a Beech J35, N8350D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Belgrade, Montana. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to the pilot, a new pitch trim servo was recently installed as part of the autopilot system update on the airplane prior to the accident flight. The pilot completed a post-maintenance preflight and departed without incident.

The pilot started that he conducted a straight-in approach to runway 30 at Bozeman-Yellowstrone International Airport, Bozeman, Montana, about 45-minutes after departure. During the landing flare, he felt the control yoke "jam up" and that it felt as though it "broke free" when he increased aft backpressure on the yoke. The control yoke "jammed up" a second time shortly after the pilot attempted to level the aircraft for landing, and when he applied additional forward movement, the control yoke "broke free" again. Subsequently, the airplane landed hard.

A post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the lower engine mount structure was substantially damage. Additionally, one of the pitch servo bridle cable clamp assemblies (figure 1) appeared to be binding on bulkhead assembly, station 179, a control cable tunnel guide.

Figure 1. View of bridle cable clamp slightly aft of the bulkhead assembly at station 179.

The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination.