Beech BE-58 accident near Palatka, Florida, April 15, 2000
On April 15, 2000 at about 5:03 am local time, a Beech BE-58, registered N1072D, was destroyed in an accident near Palatka, Florida (Palatka Kay Larkin airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's physically impaired condition due to his high level of alcohol. Factors were the pilot's intentional VFR flight into IMC conditions and failure to perform a missed approach, which resulted in a collision with the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 15, 2000 · about 5:03 am local time
- Place
- Palatka, Florida · Palatka Kay Larkin · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-58
- Registration
- N1072D · registry record · serial TH-1772
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At 0103, N1072D, collided with terrain and trees during approach to landing on runway 09, at the Kay Larkin Municipal Airport, in Palatka, Florida. The airplane had departed Palm Beach International Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida, about 2300 the previous day, and no flight plan was filed. According to a witness, on the second approach the airplane was over runway 09 moving from west to east, when the witness saw the airplane break-out of the overcast in a 30 degree bank to the right and a high descent rate. The witness told the pilot to level his wings and 'pull up, pull up'. He heard the engines go to full power, and saw the nose of the airplane raise up but the wings never leveled, and the airplanes descent rate never changed. He said he heard the crash and saw a large fire ball. Weather at the time of the accident was below instrument approach minimums and the pilot was not instrument rated. A toxicology examination of the pilot found high levels of alcohol in fluid specimens examined.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,800 hours in all; 123 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 655 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 7, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550C (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PBI West Palm Beach FL at 3:00 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 5,003 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:35 am from SGJ, 26 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.