The Most Lethal Aircraft In General Aviation! The Beechcraft Bonanza 

Even the oldest 1947 V tail turns heads no matter what airport they are at. Our family has owned our 1964 S35 since 1970 and I plan on keeping it until the day I simply cannot fly myself any longer. Hopefully at 62 years of age myself, that will be many more years down the road. Even though it's approaching it's own 60th birthday next year, it still looks and flys better than anything new on the market today.

First it is high performance in flight characteristics and early buyers were not capable of piloting it safely hence many publicized deaths of professionals like MD's & Attorneys a great deal of them in the "split tail" verison. I flew many times with my Dad (a fighter pilot) that was also a well known instructor & type rated in more than 100 aircraft throughout his flight career. He said it was one of his favorite airframes along with the Beechcraft Stager Wing, P47D & F4E of Vietnam fame where he did 3 tours. When flown well with light touch on the controls he told me this was an absolutely Beautiful plane to fly within its envelope. R.I.P Dad, it was an educational 96 years.

I love working on and flying the V tails especially but they are all fun. In my opinion, doctors and lawyers have been Bonanza Killers! I specialized in them for 11 years exclusively.

I got a F33A as my first plane, but I had 600 hours. I didn't have any retract time, time in type or instrument rating at the time so the first year insurance was expensive. By the second year I had plenty of retract time, time in type, ABS training and some incredible Bonanza instructors, plus the instrument rating so insurance was MUCH cheaper. Being used to 172s, 182s and Pipers I found the F33A to be much more solid, stable and of course quite a bit faster. It is a great plane and I am glad I was flying it in some pretty nasty IMC as it made it easy and actually fun. They have recently gotten crazy expensive though.

They are not as dangerous as they are made out to be. Most of the accidents have been due to pilots not being properly trained on the complexities of the type. The same applies to most GA crashes.

Hey man, just wanted to say thank you for these videos. Really helped me finally decide to go back to school (at 21) to middle Tennessee state university for their A&P program as well as airforce ROTC. Can not wait till August

I found the secret to owning and flying my Bonanza! Fly it by following the book. I flew my prized posession to the manufactures specs and never had a problem. It was a wonderful, bird that never failed me. It was comfortable, fast and above all, safe. Thanks for your vedio.

Bryce, great video as always. I'm working on an Bonanza Aerobat right now at work and they are awesome machines.

Well said! I owned serial# 62 two times and since, a ‘60 M model and now have a fully restored ‘55 F model. Fantastic, classic planes that are safe and dependable, properly maintained and flown. Luckily, flight training and safety awareness is much better today than in the past. It’s also great that there is so much good aviation content on RU-vid and other social media that can keep people learning and up to speed.

When I win the lotto, I'll buy one. Years ago I got to fly an A36 for a while. I loved that plane.

Very much enjoyed this upload. I have always felt many of the crashes in question were, using the terminology of the Army Aviation Accident Board, pilot error. Way, way back when I began, I listened to War 2 AAC pilots complain about some aircraft. But in the end, they would concede that training and time were the answer.

This video definitely grabbed my attention. I think the phenomena has continued with other high performance/complex aircraft. I've seen well heeled individuals turn Cirrus and Piper 300s, etc., into airplane parts donors. Anyway, great video!

I love your candor. My dad was a great pilot who had many thousands of hours in the pilots seat. Navy and civilian. I really get what you said about pilot competency and the aircraft. A funny story will illustrate. During the Korean war, the US Navy brought back many pilots who flew prop driven aircraft. But then the were flying jets. The Grumman F9F Panther was much faster and harder to fly. Dad was often commissioned by the squadron commander to go find a pilot who had lost his way over Mexico on a training run. Why? It was more airplane than the pilot could handle. Fast, and you had to be on your toes to fly it competently. Maybe a bit like the Bonanza?

Richard Collins who flew the V tail Bonanza as a young charter pilot and later ones as well talked about his opinion on the Bonanza in regard to safety, he said he thought they were safe but in IFR they would roll into a graveyard spiral more easily than the average plane if the pilot was not a good instrument pilot. Any airplane that is has low drag will build speed very fast if in a dive so one needs to be a good pilot to safely fly them. I don't think the Bonanza is worse than any other clean aircraft in regard to safety but many pilots who bought them were less than highly proficient, look at the Piper Malibu, FAA grounded them at one point trying to understand why they were auguring in so often. Many times it was simple pilot didn't put the pitot heat on in ice, didn't end well.

Well, the real reason why they were dangerous in the old days of flying is because they were so fast they would rip the v- tail off. Dr's are the only ones that could afford them that's why they were called V-tail Dr killers. After many deaths there was a mod to help prevent that from happening. They were fast and many couldn't show them down on landing... it had its issues but more true is the pilots that were flying them shouldn't have been in them. Great plane.

They've been flying since the late 40's.. Plenty of time (DECADES) to rack up fatalities. It's not inherently dangerous. Only big issue I know of when the V tails were shedding their tails in heavy turbulence, but that issue has been fixed.

Aviation prices??? Glad I got out of aviation in the 80’s when I was paying $40.00 an hour for an instructor and a 152.

Guys with more money than talents is the problem.

The Market Prices on these are still very expensive with the standard Avionics on some models and they have been available to purchase as of the older ones they still hold their value. . At no damage history.

Well said

In the 60s, you probably trained in a Cessna 150. The major problem was the loose nut behind the controls - in other words, pilot error.

The V tail was known as the Doctor Killer ....

I think now between insurances and flight training we're doing a better job or progressing pilot skill at a safe rate. Also we have only about half as many GA pilots as we did 30 years ago so we are left with the most dedicated half.

The Beech is a great plane; nothing crashes more than the little plastic Cirrus

Before one blames an aircraft for being lethal, one must investigate every accident it ever had and determine whether it was the fault of the aircraft or the pilot.

A girl with few hours has just killed herself and father flying a just bought Debonair. I will never understand why people believe to be better pilot then they are and pretend to fly too fast and complex aircafts without the flying skill they deserve. What a shame....

My dad had two Bonanzas….a straight 35.. and @ 59 K35…we flew Bonanzas from 68 to 90… never had a problem with the aircraft themselves….just minor avionics…those planes were bullet proof…I still have the original paddle prop from the 47 Bo…oh..and by the way..my dad was a doctor…🤣🤣.

But it's such a handsome plane! How can this be?

That is the theory why so many crashed, same applies to Cirrus. When Cirrus first came out they were a VAST improvement over the older, metal aircraft. Many crashed in Cirrus too, many of the same crowd in fact, doctors, lawyers those with low time and not much experience. The fix was a different pilot population. And Cirrus addressed the issue by putting together the best training in the industry for new owners. Bonanzas got old and the new owners were guys that were not doctors and lawyers, they were retired airline pilots and others with a lot less cash to put into an aircraft. So they got them cheaper as used planes. Plus the V-tail had a fix. Not everyone is crippled by going from a slow trainer aircraft to a high performance aircraft. I went from a light sport aircraft as my training plane to a Cirrus SR22T. That was 8 years ago. My next (and last) aircraft will be a Velocity XL5, even higher performance.

Bonanzas have a third jacking point mid fuselage, takes a threaded insert. Much more stable than a tail weight

Doctors killed Bonanzas. Now Cirrus are killing techies. It is the attitude not the airplane as you have said. I have had my F35 for 30 years. It is the easiest retractable gear plane I have ever flown. I have time in the C172RG, 177RG, 182RG, 210, 17-30, PA28R,32R and M20 also for comparison.

The Bonanza is a fine airplane. But you can't treat it like a Caravan. I think some owners over many years have bought an airplane with increased capability and performance and flown it as if it were they as pilots that had increased capability. As a result they exceeded their own performance envelopes--more willing to enter IMC, etc. It also has a tricky gear retract control that can be lethal on go-arounds if the pilot doesn't plan for the eventuality on every approach. And given the slickness of the Bonanza, go-arounds are always a possibility.

Headroom? We have a 182 and in the Bonanza I hit my head just sitting !

I was asked by a potential airplane partner, "What plane if you could have anything?" I was shocked at the speed that F33 exploded out of my mouth. I have V-tail time, so I know a little about it, and don't want the V tail. I don't know that a lack of skill is the biggest problem. It is cramming that much arrogance into such a small plane doesn't leave room for any rule following notions.

The Bonanza is an issue only if you are a Doctor. And, by the way, the biggest issue is wing loading. Bonanza…20.2 lbs/sq ft, 172…13.8 lb/sq ft. If you get slow and pull, the Bonanza will flip over on you in an instant.

Interesting to see this video after the accident of the youtube girl.. so sad.

I agree with everything in the video but would like to expand on why I think the Bonanza is so well known as a doctor killer. Doctors generally learn to fly at a later age than the general population because of the amount of training they do to become practicing doctors. The typical pilot starts earlier and works their way up from simple training aircraft to the Bonanza in increments. The typical doctor starts later and, as was discussed, has the bucks to buy a Bonanza when they get their license. The danger is compounded by the fact that some doctors, though certainly not the ones reading this, are poor students and don't take training well. They become used to being the ultimate authority in their professional life and are quite sure they know more than their twenty-something CFI. Was I was training all the CFIs were, of course, anxious to rack up as many hours as possible. When a certain doctor showed up on the school schedule the flight instructors suddenly became scarce. When I got my first flight physical the examing doctor, a local orthopedist, asked if I wanted to see a picture of his plane which, of course, I did. He showed me a picture of a Bonanza, snapped in half, and resting in a tree.

I've never figured out why pilots are so slow to engage the autopilot. I can save you A$$ I've got a simple wings leveling autopilot in my 1975 C172 and I REALLY like to have that option, it works..

You commented at 4:25 about flying in "severe weather like thunderstorms...." That doesn't make the Bonanza any more lethal than any other type, it makes the pilot an idiot and his judgment questionable. I'm not a pilot but I have flown a lot in GA aircraft with others who are, and most of that time was in a V35 Bonanza. Its performance is head and shoulders above the other planes I've been in (C172, C182, PA30, PA18, PA28) except for the King Air, which is a whole 'nuther animal. It behooves the pilot to work his way into a high performance airplane and develop his skills. Any airplane can be lethal otherwise. AOPA statistics show that the aircraft itself is no more dangerous than others in its class, and the majority of Bonanza crashes are attributable to pilot error.

I have been flying for 20 years and following accidents for that long. Bonanzas are incredibly well built aircraft and they have a much higher accident rate that I can explain. I know that it is not on my next airplane list no matter what. Part of the problem could be that 90% of them have big bore Continental engines and they are not aging well, so to speak...

Think of how many doctors there would be if there were no Bonanza 's dentist would buy A Money.

😮😮

the V tail bonanza is a high performance slippery single engine complex aircraft.......nobody should be flying an airplane like that unless they have an instrument rating and 500 hours total time PIC

It was called the doctor killer for a reason.

I just got the same Be F33 A with all new avionics, engine and new 3 bladed Prop. But everything you say is not true when I compare it to my Mooney 201 which I had for 35 years. Try for instance fly out of a 2000 ft Runway with 4 People and luggage an full fuel. No way with the Bonanza. I did it for 35 years with my M201J. Also the Be 33 has very limited room and view in front with the 2 Steering wheels. You have a hard time to see all the instruments and switches. Big difference to the Mooney.What is more striking is the speed and Fuel flow with the IO470. With 150 kts. and 14 Gal. average fuel, the Mooney used only 8,5 Gal. Big difference when Avgas is around 12 $ a gallon where i live. The only advantage for me is that my wife can get easier into the Beech. By the way i did fly my Mooney twice across the atlantic.

Let's not forget that a lot Doctors back in the Day were heavy drinkers. 😮

Lancair may be more deserving of that title

Low wing or no wing !!

Doctor Killers

I disagree with you in the fact about the plane being so lethal.... I believe the biggest problem is that people want the plane because it is a "BONANZA" and they are not ready for the plane... Others just get complacent and let the plane get a head of them... I would never in anyway blame the plane.. I blame the pilots and the Training on the planes. Have been in many Bonanza's and never near a crash or incident, because the ones that my friends have, they are well maintained, and the pilots are very experienced. This plane is not for a Low Time Pilot, and it gets a bad reputation because of Bad Pilots not wanting to take the blame. I have the Beech C24R Sierra and it is a very nice and comfortable plane (and has a 2" wider cabin than the Bonanza, but not nearly as fast... But it uses a lot less gas as well.

Your step son looks like your older brother

Isnt this the guy that reviews fast food?

Wrong. Bonanza is not the "best performing aircraft," it isn't "stable," and it isn't "forgiving." Too much can go horribly wrong to list in a RU-vid comment, so I'll limit myself. 1/ Fuel management involves switching between 3-5 tanks at specific points in the flight. Drain the aux tank at the wrong time and center of gravity will be thrown off. Each tank has quite a bit of unusable fuel and the chance of a fuel starvation crash due to "unporting" is increased significantly if the plane is ascending, descending, or banking. 2/ Bonanzas are notoriously unstable in IMC. Many crashes have occurred when a pilot in IMC didn't watch the instruments like a hawk, since the plane is prone to "spiral divergence" that can result in an unrecoverable death spiral. That's enough examples. The plane was design for speed and that's all it does well. But I'll say "Good PR job, Beechcraft" for blaming all these design flaws on the pilots.

Glide factor like a potato

Ah, the forked tail Doctor killer. ;)

DOCTOR TERMINATOR

Title is clickbait, but doctors were bonanza killers, and it's not "widely considered ... dangerous" in the slightest.

Dangerous pilots not airplanes

Yeah, the C-210 is better

29 seconds, 👎👎 you REALLY decide to record and INCLUDE a food stop?

If you spent as much time and money on your pilot training and aviation education as you did on your tattoos, I might consider actually flying below FL 180 on the same day and in the same state in which you are flying.

worst paint job ever just looking at the livery alone k1llz me from boredom

Just dumb…

Ridiculous title.

Please shave. You can't grow a mustache.

I only made it 34 seconds into ur bad video before I turned it off. Total click bait title and no interest whatsoever in watching u order food. BORING!!!!!!!