Cessna 208B accident near Madison, North Carolina, January 11, 1989
On January 11, 1989 at about 12:28 pm local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N9330B, was destroyed in an accident near Madison, North Carolina (Rockingham County/Shiloh 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
IMPROPER IFR PROCEDURE BY THE PILOT AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN THE MINIMUM DESCENT ALTITUDE (MDA). CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE: LOW CEILING, FOG, DELAYED MISSED APPROACH BY THE PILOT, AND TREES.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 11, 1989 · about 12:28 pm local time
- Place
- Madison, North Carolina · Rockingham County/Shiloh · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N9330B · registry record · serial 208B0053
- 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
AS THE PLT WAS EN ROUTE TO GREENSBORO (HIS DESTN), HE FLEW PAST SHILOH & NOTED THAT WX AT THE ARPT WAS CLEAR, BUT FROM ABOUT 10 SOUTH OF SHILOH, GROUND FOG EXTENDED TO THE SOUTH. AT 0634 EST, HE CONTACTED GREENSBORO TOWER & WAS ADZD THE RVR WAS 1600 FT. HIS MIMIMUMS WERE 1800 FT. HE HELD FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, BUT THE WX CONTD TO DETERIORATE, SO HE DIVERTED TO THE ROCKINGHAM COUNTY/SHILOH ARPT, WHERE NO WX RPRTG FACILITIES WERE AVAILABLE. AFTER BEING VECTORED OVER THE ALTERNATE ARPT, HE WAS UNABLE TO GET ENOUGH VISUAL CUES FOR A VISUAL APCH, SO HE ELECTED TO MAKE AN SDF APCH. THE PLT STATED THAT WHEN HE REACHED THE MIN DSCNT ALT (MDA), HE SAW THE RWY & PROCEEDED TO MAKE A VISUAL APCH. AS HE CONTD, PATCHY FOG BEGAN TO OBSCURE THE RWY, SO HE MANEUVERED THE ACFT TO KEEP IT IN SITE, THEN ELECTED TO GO AROUND. HOWEVER, AS HE BEGAN THE GO-AROUND, THE ACFT HIT TREES & CRASHED. ELEVATION OF THE CRASH SITE WAS APRX 700 FT. MDA FOR THE APCH WAS 1120 FT MSL.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,100 hours in all; 360 in this make and model; 1,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 896 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 23, 1988; 101 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Atlantic Aero, INC
The flight
- Departed from: ROA Roanoke VA at 11:20 am
- Destination: GSO Greensboro NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 5,200 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 020° at 4 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 am from GSO, 20 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ATL89FA071.