Beech D18S accident near Norfolk, Virginia, December 13, 1984
On December 13, 1984 at about 12:51 pm local time, a Beech D18S, registered N8517Z, was destroyed in an accident near Norfolk, Virginia (Norfolk Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- December 13, 1984 · about 12:51 pm local time
- Place
- Norfolk, Virginia · Norfolk Int'L
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech D18S · all D18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N8517Z · no longer on the register · serial A-352
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED DURING AN ILS APPROACH FOLLOWING AN ENGINE POWER LOSS WHILE ON AN AIR TAXI FREIGHT FLIGHT. THE PLT RELATED THAT AT ABOUT 550 FT ON THE APPROACH TO RWY 23 THE LEFT ENG FUEL PRESS WARNING LITE ILLUMINATED & THE LT ENG LOSS POWER. THE PLT OPENED THE CROSSFEED VALVE & SHORTLY THE RT FUEL PRESS WARNING LITE ILLUMINATED FOLLOWED BY LOSS OF POWER ON THE RT ENG. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THERE IS ONE FUEL GAUGE FOR THE TANK SYSTEM & A SELECTOR SWITCH MUST BE ACTIVATED TO DETERMINE THE FUEL QUANTITY IN ANY DESIRED TANK. THE PLT'S ACTION IN SELECTING CROSSFEED & NOT CLOSING THE FUEL SHUT OFF VALVE ALLOWED FUEL TO BE DIVERTED FROM THE OPERATIVE RT ENG RESULTING IN A LOSS OF POWER DUE TO FUEL STARVATION.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 1,520 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 10,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,245 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R985-14B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RIC Richmond VA at 12:15 pm
- Destination: ORF Norfolk VA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 210° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 19000 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; ovct at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 am from ORF, 1 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.
Other NTSB records under N8517Z 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.