The FAA still hasn't figured it out yet - it's the increased average weights

Is the FAA Looking at the Increase of Pax Weight for GA also?

Beech didn’t have a six-seater in the early ’60s when Cessna began stealing the market. Using the 1963 P35 Bonanza as a base, Beech first tried a 14-inch fuselage stretch on the 1964 S35 Bonanza in order to mount a pair of aft “family seats” in the baggage area. The V-tail airplane already had aft CG problems, and as the “family” name implied, those two extra seats were primarily designed for children or very lightweight adults. The “S” Bonanza wasn’t the answer to the six-seat question.

Finally, in 1968, Beech adapted the straight-tail model 33 Bonanza fuselage, stretched it another 14 inches to accommodate two extra full-size seats, moved the wing and main gear back 10 inches and added double, right-side cargo doors. Beech offered a turbocharged A36TC a decade later. Responding to diminishing demand, the Wichita company discontinued the normally-aspirated A36 in 1995, though it continues to offer the turbocharged model B36TC.

Pilots seriously considering a six-seater will be especially interested in useful load and payload numbers, and it’s true that none of the six aircraft surveyed will carry full fuel and full seats, just as most four seaters can’t fly with four plus full tanks. The Turbo Centurion comes closest with 890 pounds of payload. That’s not so bad on stage lengths that don’t demand full fuel, but it’s more significant if long range with full seats is the goal.

from link (and see also this link)

Thursday, December 25, 2003 Posted: 7:55 PM EST (0055 GMT)

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(CNN) -- Six people died Thursday when their small airplane crashed during takeoff at the North Las Vegas Airport, according to a county official.

The single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza had just gotten airborne at 1:20 p.m. (4:20 p.m. EST) when it appeared to stall and then crash into a ditch south of the runway and burst into flames, said Hillary Grey, public affairs manager for the Clark County Department of Aviation, citing witness reports.

No one survived the crash, the cause of which would be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, she said.

Six die in crash at NLV airport

Single-engine aircraft burst into flames upon impact, witness says

By LISA KIM BACH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The body of one of six people killed Thursday in a plane crash at the North Las Vegas Airport is loaded into a van.

Investigators work at the accident site of a single-engine aircraft that crashed Thursday on take-off from the North Las Vegas Airport. Six people were killed in the crash.

A single-engine aircraft crashed during takeoff Thursday at the North Las Vegas Airport, killing the four adults and two children aboard.

Witness Mike Miller, who was at a gas station on Rancho Drive and Carey Avenue when the Beech A-36 aircraft hit the ground at 1:21 p.m., said the plane was immediately engulfed in flames, sending a column of black smoke into the sky. No one could have helped the passengers, even if the wreckage were reachable, Miller said.

"It's such a tremendous human loss," said Miller, who is a helicopter pilot. "I wish someone could have helped them."

Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the pilot radioed in an emergency and indicated he was trying to return to the airport.

At that point, the single-engine plane "lost lift ... and went nose-in," Kenitzer said.

Four adults and two children were killed in the crash, said FAA safety inspector Ron Williams. The identities of the pilot and the passengers were not available Thursday.

Clark County Aviation Department spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said the plane had been fully fueled before taking the runway.

North Las Vegas police closed westbound Carey at Simmons Street as emergency responders converged on crash scene. The plane went down on the southern edge of the airport, hitting a concrete wash.

Workers draped white sheets over the airport's chain link fencing as they removed the bodies from the crash scene about 3:30 p.m. The victims were taken to the Clark County coroner's office.

Because the accident resulted in fatalities, Grey said the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the cause of the crash. Grey said no information was available on why the plane went down or whether wind and rain were factors. Rainy and windy weather had shut down two of the airport's three runways.

An inspector from the NTSB's Los Angeles office was not expected to arrive in North Las Vegas until today. Local law enforcement will keep the site secure until inspectors arrive, Grey said.

FAA records show the aircraft was built in 1980 and was owned by Pat Car Air Inc. of Wilmington, Del.

The North Las Vegas Airport ranks as the second-busiest in Nevada behind McCarran International Airport. It's the 54th busiest airport in the nation. It's primarily a hub for sightseeing flights to regional attractions, and corporate and private aircraft.

Despite its high activity, with about 600 total takeoffs and landings per day, the North Las Vegas Airport doesn't have aircraft rescue or firefighting equipment and personnel on site. Emergency responders at the Christmas Day crash included the North Las Vegas police and fire departments, and the Clark County Fire Department.

The most recent accident at the North Las Vegas Airport was Sept. 23, when two single-engine planes collided at the intersection of two runways. One aircraft was landing and another was preparing for takeoff. The two pilots sustained moderate injuries.

Two people were injured Aug. 31 when a small airplane crashed short of an airport runway shortly after 10 p.m.

On March 30, one person was hurt when a small airplane crashed across the street from the airport next to a Rancho Drive apartment complex.

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