Beechcraft BE-200 N18260

Summary

On 24 August 2001 at about 10:40 local time, a Beechcraft BE-200 registered N18260 was involved in an accident near Piqua, Ohio, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 August 2001 at 10:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Piqua, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Piqua (I17)

Coordinates

40.1686, -84.3014

Aircraft

Beechcraft BE-200

Registration

N18260

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dayton → Piqua

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

NYC01FA215

1 person died.

The pilot's improper decision to attempt a visual landing under instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance, which resulted in an in-flight collision with trees. A factor in this accident was the ground fog.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport rated pilot was attempting to land under visual flight rules for a scheduled passenger pick-up and subsequent charter flight. The pilot was communicating with a pilot at the airport, who was utilizing a hand held radio. The accident pilot reported he was not able to see the runway lights due to ground fog and continued to circle the airport for about 20 minutes. The pilot on the ground stated the airplane appeared to be about 1,500 feet above the ground when it circled, and then entered a downwind for runway 26. He was not able to hear or see the airplane as it flew away from the airport. He then began to hear the airplane during its final approach. The airplane's engines sounded normal. He then heard a "terrible sound of impact," followed by silence. When he arrived at the accident site, the airplane was fully engulfed in flames. The airplane impacted trees about 80-feet tall, located about 2,000 feet from, and on a 240 degree course to the approach end of runway 26. Several freshly broken tree limbs and trunks, up to 15-inches in diameter, were observed strewn along a debris path, which measured 370 feet. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact malfunctions. The weather reported at an airport about 19 miles south-southeast of the accident site, included a visibility of 1 3/4 miles, in mist, with clear skies and a temperature and dew point of 17 degrees Celsius. Witnesses in the area of the accident site generally described conditions of "thick fog" and a resident who lived across from the accident site stated visibility was "near zero" and he could barely see across the road.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.