Beech 95-B55 accident near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, June 2, 1986
On June 2, 1986 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Beech 95-B55, registered N3001S, was destroyed in an accident near Elizabethtown, Kentucky (Elizabethtown 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 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
- June 2, 1986 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky · Elizabethtown · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 95-B55 · all 95-B55s on the register
- Registration
- N3001S · no longer on the register · serial TC-797
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT OBSERVED IN LEVEL FLT IN IMC JUST BELOW EST 500 FOOT OVC. EST VIZ ABOUT 3/4 MI. LT WING STRUCK 15/16 INCH DIA STEEL GUY CABLE 534 FEET AGL SHEARING OUTER 118 IN. ACFT IMPACTED EARTH FILL DAM 1169 FT FROM 650 FEET TALL TV ANTENNA. TOWER. TOP OF TOWER OBSCURED BY CLOUDS. PLT HAD DEP AIRPORT 63 NM WEST JUST AFTER THE WX AT THE DEP FLD REACHED VFR MINIMUMS.
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: 862 hours in all; 64 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 737 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,865 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 12, 1985; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-E2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OWB Owensboro KY at 2:20 pm
- Destination: I98 Elizabethtown KY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded at 500 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N3001S 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.