In looking at the 100 most recent Beech A36 Bonanza accidents we came away impressed by the low. number of runway loss of control (RLOC) events – two; landing gear mechanical issues – two; and general landing-related mishaps – six. The good manners of the long Bonanza around a runway meant we didn’t see any of the things we’re used to seeing with other airplanes such as botched landings where the pilot go sideways, went around and hit something or stuck a wing in the ground trying to deal with a crosswind.
On the bad news side of the equation, while the engine/mechanical count of 22 was not out of line, at least a quarter of the events involved maintenance malpractice. Not torquing through-bolts correctly after cylinder replacement destroyed three engines and reusing what turned out to be a corroded exhaust valve spring from a cylinder that was lying around led to a fatigue failure of the spring and an airplane sliding to a stop in the dirt.