Beech BE-90 accident near Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, March 4, 1986
On March 4, 1986 at about 1:35 pm local time, a Beech BE-90, registered N861K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mount Pleasant, Tennessee (Maury County Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 9 people were 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
- March 4, 1986 · about 1:35 pm local time
- Place
- Mount Pleasant, Tennessee · Maury County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-90
- Registration
- N861K · no longer on the register · serial LJ-471
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON FINAL APPROACH THE CREW TURNED THE AIRCRAFT CABIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL FROM THE AUTO MODE TO THE OFF POSITION. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE COCKPIT AND CABIN BEGAN TO FILL WITH SMOKE. THE OCCUPANT OF THE COPILOTS SEAT FELT HEAT AROUND HIS FEET. A NORMAL LANDING WAS MADE AND THE PASSENGERS AND CREW EXITED THE AIRCRAFT WITH OUT INJURY. EXAMINATION SHOWED THAT THE FIBERGLASS DUCTING ON TOP OF THE HEATER PELEUM CHAMBER HAD CAUGHT FIRE. A HOLE WAS BURNED THROUGHT THE PRESSURE BULKHEAD INTO THE AVIONICS COMPARTMENT.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,781 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 15, 1985; 64 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,650 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6 A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
- Operator: Stevens Aviation,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: LOU Louisville KY at 12:34 pm
- Destination: MRC Columbia TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 5,003 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:46 pm from BNA, 42 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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.