Beech 65-A90 accident near Selmer, Tennessee, January 22, 1998
On January 22, 1998 at about 1:30 pm local time, a Beech 65-A90, registered N911KA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Selmer, Tennessee (Robert Sibley Airport). It was a personal 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 loss of control on the ground, due to hydroplaning, and a collision with trees. A factor was the rain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 22, 1998 · about 1:30 pm local time
- Place
- Selmer, Tennessee · Robert Sibley Airport · 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 65-A90 · all 65-A90s on the register
- Registration
- N911KA · registry record · serial LJ254
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, upon landing in heavy rain, the airplane began hydroplaning. He said the airplane departed the left side of the runway, striking trees, which damaged both wings and collapsed the landing gear. A witness stated the airplane touched down in moderate rain.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,190 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 3,190 as pilot in command; 100 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,842 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 26, 1997; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,650 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BNA Nashville TN at 12:30 pm
- Destination: SZY TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17, 5,002 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 050° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from MKL, 50 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.
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.