Beech A23 accident near Knox, Indiana, February 3, 2000
On February 3, 2000 at about 7:05 pm local time, a Beech A23, registered N1489L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Knox, Indiana (Starke County Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the instructor pilot not performing remedial action on the student's right drift during the flare. Factors were the student not maintaining directional control, the student not maintaining proper centerline alignment, and the snowbank.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 3, 2000 · about 7:05 pm local time
- Place
- Knox, Indiana · Starke County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech A23 · all A23s on the register
- Registration
- N1489L · registry record · serial M889
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The accident airplane impacted a snowbank during a landing at Starke County Airport. The pilots were uninjured. The instructor stated that the airplane taxied through slushy snow and departed Porter County Municipal Airport {VPZ}. He said the student performed two go arounds. On the third attempt, the aircraft settled onto the runway the aircraft and pulled to the right. The instructor took the controls and added full power. The instructor said that the 'right tire went into snow bank along side of runway and pulled aircraft off of runway, skidding side ways and collapsing nose wheel. After departing aircraft I checked runway and found a single skid tiremark on runway, about 20 feet long. My assumption is that the slush during taxi at VPZ froze the tire up and caused us to be pulled off runway on landing at Stark County Airport.' The student stated, 'Upon my flare I drifted slightly right of center line and sat the plane down. It immediately pulled to the right.' The airplane was moved prior to an on-scene examination. The examination did not reveal any anomalies.
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: single-engine land; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 28 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 2,900 as pilot in command; 1,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,438 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 12, 1999; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO346 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VPZ Valparaiso IN at 6:20 pm
- Destination: OXI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 4,400 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:00 pm from VPZ, 18 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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 CHI00LA068.