Beechcraft 58 N23806

Summary

On 3 July 1996 at about 06:50 local time, a Beechcraft 58 registered N23806, operated by ISO Aero Service, Inc., was involved in an accident near Kinston, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 July 1996 at 06:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Kinston, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Kinston Regional Jetport (ISO)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Beechcraft 58

Registration

N23806

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

ISO Aero Service, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Raleigh → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

Unk

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

MIA96LA174

1 person had minor injuries.

failure of the pilot to maintain minimum descent altitude (MDA) during approach because of fatigue.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

After being awake about 20 hrs, the pilot (plt) departed on a positioning flight (flt) at 0217 EDT after two previous flts; although, she said she contemplated 'staying the night in Raleigh because of the fatigue.' She used the aircraft (acft) heater, on the ground & during takeoff. She said that en route, she felt fatigued & contemplated returning to the departure airport, but continued flt. About 5 min before starting a VOR approach (apch), plt turned off the heater. Two times, while being vectored for apch, plt incorrectly read back the direction of turn (left vs right), but other details & radio transmissions were accurate & responsive. The plt said she fell asleep after putting gear down on apch Acft then collided with trees & the ground. Time of accident was about 0250 EDT. Postcrash fire erupted, but plt egressed with injuries that were considered minor. Investigators requested blood specimens to test for carboxyhemoglobin [carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning], but specimens were not provided. (Plt said that due to extreme pain, her doctor opted not to proceed with test.) Pressure testing of heater revealed leaks at a gasket & screw (where fuel nozzle was mounted) & at 2 of 3 cross-over tubes; but these were attributed to impact damage. No evidence was found of any preimpact heater failure or malfunction that would have allowed CO to have entered the cockpit. Two plts used the heater on previous flts, but neither of them noticed any heater problem or symptoms of CO poisoning. About 18 miles west, at 0255 EDT, the ceiling was 300 feet broken. MDA for the approach was 352 feet AGL (440 msl).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.