Beech 58 incident near Georgetown, South Carolina, November 2, 1988
On November 2, 1988 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Beech 58, registered N958MC, suffered minor damage in an incident near Georgetown, South Carolina (Georgetown County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 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 incident. 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
- November 2, 1988 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Georgetown, South Carolina · Georgetown County · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N958MC · no longer on the register · serial TH-552
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED AFTER A 'NORMAL' LDG. AN FAA INSPECTOR WHO EXAMINED THE RWY AFTER THE MISHAP REPORTED THAT HE FOUND TIRE MARKS WHICH INDICATED THAT THE NOSE TIRE HAD CONTACTED THE RWY SEVERAL TIMES AFTER THE MAIN TIRES TOUCHED DOWN. EXAM OF THE NOSE GEAR REVEALED THAT THE AFT DRAG-LINK BRACKET ASSY HAD FAILED; METALLURGICAL EXAM OF THE FRACTURE SURFACES REVEALED FEATURES TYPICAL OF AN OVERSTRESS BREAK, WITH NO EVIDENCE OF PREEXISTING CRACKING.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,953 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 53 in the last 30 days; 11,150 as pilot in command; 3,182 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,948 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 10, 1988; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ramp 66, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: 49J Hilton Head SC at 4:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 4,800 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 8 knots
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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 N958MC 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.