Beechcraft C23 N24697

Summary

On 28 October 2001 at about 23:27 local time, a Beechcraft C23 registered N24697 was involved in an accident near Athens, Georgia, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 October 2001 at 23:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Athens, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Athens Ben Epps (AHN)

Coordinates

33.9483, -83.3261

Aircraft

Beechcraft C23

Registration

N24697

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Athens → Dawson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

MIA02LA013

2 people were seriously injured.

the pilot misjudged the ailment of the airplane on the active runway, inadvertently taking off from a parallel taxiway, and subsequently departing the hard surface into a 40 foot drop off. A factor in this accident was a dark night, and the pilot's total experience in night operations.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot landed the airplane, taxied to the fixed base operator, and shut down the engine. About 40 minutes later he re-started the engine, and started to taxi to runway 27. This was his first time at this airport, he landed during daylight and taxied for takeoff during darkness. The pilot was cleared to the hold short of runway 27, prior to getting clearance for takeoff. After getting clearance for takeoff, the PIC turned to the right placing him on a parallel taxiway that leads to runway 27, and immediately went to full power, unaware that he was on the taxiway and not on runway 27. The tower made several attempts to stop the pilot before the airplane crossed the approach end of runway 27. After departing the hard surface the airplane went into a grassy area, down a 40 foot drop off, coming to rest inverted. The pilot admitted to have erred in judgment causing this accident. The pilot received his private pilot rating April 2001. He had a total of 117 hours in all aircraft, of which 8 hours were of night operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.