Beech BE-23 accident near Asheville, North Carolina, December 30, 2006
On December 30, 2006 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Beech BE-23, registered N2319L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Asheville, North Carolina. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued VFR cruise flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a forced landing and collision with trees. Factors associated with the accident were fog and low ceilings.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 30, 2006 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Asheville, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-23
- Registration
- N2319L · no longer on the register · serial M-145
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot was conducting a Title 14, CFR Part 91 cross-country personal flight with three passengers. While over an area of mountainous terrain, weather conditions began to deteriorate with fog, low ceilings, and poor visibility. The weather conditions worsened, and the airplane entered a fog bank. The pilot reported that after losing all visual reference with the mountainous terrain below, he leveled the airplane's wings, and began a shallow descent. As the airplane emerged from the fog bank, the pilot saw a tree-covered mountain slope about 100 feet ahead, and he selected a forced landing site in the trees. During the forced landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 129 hours in all; 129 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,016.6 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 2006; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,205 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O320-D2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OSU Columbus OH at 1:35 pm
- Destination: 0A7 Hendersonville NC
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 0 statute miles
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.47 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.