Beech B100 accident near Birmingham, Alabama, May 19, 1987
On May 19, 1987 at about 11:25 am local time, a Beech B100, registered N753D, suffered minor damage in an accident near Birmingham, Alabama (Birmingham Municipal airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- May 19, 1987 · about 11:25 am local time
- Place
- Birmingham, Alabama · Birmingham Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech B100 · all B100s on the register
- Registration
- N753D · registry record · serial BE-98
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE LINEMAN WALKED INTO THE PROP ARC OF THE OPERATING RT ENGINE AND WAS FATALLY INJURED AFTER DISCONNECTING A GROUND POWER UNIT (GPU) CABLE FROM THE RT ENGINE NACELLE. THE LINEMAN INITIALLY APPROACHED THE NACELLE FROM THE REAR, BUT WALKED FORWARD INTO THE PROP ARC AFTER DISCONNECT. THE FBO'S REPORTED NORMAL PROCEDURE FOR GPU DISCONNECT OPS ON THIS ACFT DIRECTED PERSONNEL TO APPROACH AND DEPART THE NACELLE AREA FROM THE REAR. THE PLT REPORTED THAT THE LINEMAN HAD PERFORMED GPU DISCONNECT PROCEDURES ON THIS ACFT WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM ON SEVERAL PREVIOUS OCCASIONS. TOXICOLOGICAL ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED ON BLOOD AND URINE SAMPLES FROM THE LINEMAN: A LEVEL OF GREATER THAN 50 NG/ML CARBOXY THC WAS REPORTED TO EXIST IN THE URINE SAMPLE. THE REPORT NOTED THAT LEVELS OF GREATER THAN 50 NG/ML CARBOXY THC ARE 'TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH VERY RECENT USE' (OF MARIJUANA). ADDITIONALLY, COCAINE AND MARIJUANA METABOLITES WERE DETECTED IN THE LINEMAN'S BLOOD SAMPLE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,669 hours in all; 227 in this make and model; 163 in the last 90 days; 15,469 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,735 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, April 30, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 10,600 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE331-6-252B (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Jetco, INC.
The flight
- Destination: MOB Mobile AL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 150° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 am from BHM
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.