Beech Bonanza N5445D Crashes Shortly After Takeoff From Waycross, Georgia

A single-engine Beech Bonanza that flight-tracking data identifies as N5445D crashed shortly after departing Waycross-Ware County Airport in southeast Georgia at about 11:15 a.m. on Friday, November 6, 2026. The FAA said the pilot was the only person on board.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, with the FAA also involved. The pilot’s condition had not been released by officials as of Friday evening.

What officials have confirmed

The NTSB said in a post on X on Friday afternoon that it was investigating the November 6 crash of a Beech H35 near Waycross. The FAA described the aircraft as a Beechcraft BE35 that went down while taking off, according to WALB.

The two descriptions agree. BE35 is the type code that covers the V-tail Model 35 Bonanza family, and the H35 is one model within it.

WJCL reported that the airplane came down in the woods near the airport. The intersection of Airport Road and Harris Road was closed to keep traffic away from the scene, First Coast News reported.

The airport’s main terminal was also closed on Friday, the Waycross Journal-Herald reported, as relayed by Action News Jax. Officials have not named the pilot or said whether anyone was hurt.

The airplane and its last flight

No official source has named the registration. FlightAware’s history for N5445D, a Bonanza registered in Waycross, shows a departure from Waycross-Ware County at 11:14 a.m. EST on November 6, listed as bound for St. Simons Island (SSI) on the Georgia coast. That is a minute before the approximate crash time the FAA gave.

The tracker logged one received position for that flight, at the moment of takeoff, with a ground speed of 71 knots just northeast of the field. It recorded no altitude or speed for the flight after that point.

The FAA aircraft registry lists N5445D as a 1957 Beech H35, serial number D-4924, with a Continental O-470 series engine. It is registered to a limited liability company with a Waycross address, and the tracking history shows three earlier departures from Waycross between October 26 and October 31.

The H35 was the 1957 model year of the original Beechcraft Bonanza, the four-seat, retractable-gear single with the distinctive V-tail. Beech built Model 35s from 1947 to 1982, and the conventional-tail line continues today as the Bonanza G36.

Weather at the airport around takeoff

The airport’s automated weather station reported a changing picture that morning. At 10:50 a.m. the wind was calm, with a broken cloud layer at 1,500 feet, an overcast at 2,100 feet and no rain.

The 11:15 a.m. report showed heavy rain, an overcast at 1,700 feet, 7 miles of visibility and wind from the west at 11 knots gusting to 18. By 11:35 a.m. the rain had cleared from the report and the wind had dropped to 6 knots.

Those are routine surface observations, not findings. Weather is on the NTSB’s list for this investigation, and the agency has not linked it, or anything else, to the crash.

What the NTSB does next

NTSB investigators were due on scene on Saturday, November 7, to document the wreckage before it is moved to a secure facility for further examination, the agency told local media. It said investigators will look at the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.

That work covers flight track data, any air traffic control recordings, maintenance records, weather forecasts, the pilot’s certificates and recent flying, a 72-hour history of the pilot, witness statements, electronic devices and any surveillance video. The NTSB does not determine or speculate about a cause during the on-scene phase.

A preliminary report with the early factual findings is expected within 30 days. It usually lays out the factual sequence of a flight, as the NTSB’s account of Tom Tiffany’s ditched Bonanza did in October.

The final report with a probable cause is expected in 12 to 24 months.