Beech BE-36A accident near Mount Airy, North Carolina, March 2, 2003
On March 2, 2003, a Beech BE-36A, registered N343BA, was destroyed in an accident near Mount Airy, North Carolina (Mount Airy/Surry County airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 5 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilots failure to maintain control of the aircraft due to spatial disorientation. A factor was low clouds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 2, 2003
- Place
- Mount Airy, North Carolina · Mount Airy/Surry County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-36A
- Registration
- N343BA · registry record · serial E-1317
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the airport manager, the instrument flight collided with the ground shortly after takeoff. Weather at the time of the accident was wind calm, visibility two statue miles, drizzle, ceiling overcast 500 feet, temperature eight degrees Celsius, dew point six degrees Celsius, altimeter 30.00 inches of mercury. Examination of the wreckage site found that the airplane had collided with terrain on the south side of an east-west oriented hill, in a near vertical nose-down attitude. The engine and forward cabin had penetrated the ground to a depth of about eight feet. The wreckage examination failed to disclose anomalies with the airframe or systems.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 712 hours in all; 272 in this make and model; 110 in the last 90 days; 28 in the last 30 days; 653 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 7, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,853 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 16, 2002
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MWK Mount Airy NC
- Destination: EYF Elizabethtown NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 4,300 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: at 0 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N343BA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.