Consolidated-Vultee BT-13A N550C

Summary

On 2 August 1998 at about 23:14 local time, a Consolidated-Vultee BT-13A registered N550C was involved in an accident near Stevensville, Maryland, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 August 1998 at 23:14

Classification

Accident

Location

Stevensville, Maryland, United States

Nearest airport

Kentmorr Airpark (3W3)

Coordinates

38.9895, -76.2996

Aircraft

Consolidated-Vultee BT-13A

Registration

N550C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kentmorr → Fredricksburg

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD98FA086

2 people died.

The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain aircraft control while buzzing a building.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to witnesses, before the flight, at a local restaurant, the pilot told a waitress that he would fly by the restaurant and wave. The airplane departed the airport, initially flew west, then south, parallel to the shore line. At the marina, the airplane flew by at a low altitude, about 150-300 feet above the ground. It then made a sharp right turn, and the wings were perpendicular to the ground. The nose of the airplane dropped, and it immediately began to descend. It disappeared behind trees, and shortly afterwards, witnesses heard the impact and saw a column of smoke.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.