Beechcraft’s venerable V-tail Bonanza experienced a few flutter-related incidents and accidents before a series of Airworthiness Directives required inspections and strengthening of its empennage.

by Jeff Pardo

You’re descending at a relatively high speed in calm air and, since there was no forecast for and little chance of turbulence, you let the airspeed climb into the yellow arc. Then you hear a buzzing noise. You might think that one or more fasteners have come loose, perhaps on the cowling—or you might imagine a bee, wasp or some other stowaway insect as the source. One thing is for sure; the sound you hear probably isn’t a stuck microphone. So what’s going on? Well, you had better slow down, because that buzz you hear could be your ailerons about to go fully into “auto-flail mode.” …