Beech 58 accident near Middlesboro, Kentucky, October 11, 1983
On October 11, 1983 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Beech 58, registered N3971A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Middlesboro, Kentucky (Middlesboro airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 11, 1983 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Middlesboro, Kentucky · Middlesboro · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N3971A · no longer on the register · serial 6
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING ARRIVAL, THE ACFT WAS LANDED WITH THE LANDING GEAR RETRACTED. AN EXAM OF THE ACFT REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF A PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE OF THE LANDING GEAR SYSTEM.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,648 hours in all; 202 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 4,334 as pilot in command; 11 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,462 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 10, 1983; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SME Somerset KY at 3:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 3,630 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft; not recorded at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.