Mitsubishi MU-300 accident near Anderson, Indiana, March 25, 2002
On March 25, 2002 at about 2:01 pm local time, a Mitsubishi MU-300, registered N617BG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anderson, Indiana (Anderson Municipal-Darlington airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Missed approach not executed and flight to a destination alternate not performed by the flight crew. The tail wind and snow/ice covered runway were contributing factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 25, 2002 · about 2:01 pm local time
- Place
- Anderson, Indiana · Anderson Municipal-Darlington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mitsubishi MU-300 · all MU-300s on the register
- Registration
- N617BG · registry record · serial 0675A
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The MU-300 on-demand passenger charter flight sustained substantial damage during a landing overrun on a snow/ice contaminated runway. The captain, who was also the company chief pilot and check airman, was the flying pilot, and the first officer was the non flying pilot. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. Area weather reporting stations reported the presence of freezing rain and snow for a time period beginning several hours before the accident. The captain did not obtain the destination airport weather observation until the flight was approximately 30 nautical miles from the airport. The flight received radar vectors for a instrument landing system approach to runway 30 (5,401 feet by 100 feet, grooved asphalt). The company's training manual states the MU-300's intermediate and final approach speeds as 140 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS) and Vref, respectively. Vref was reported by the flight crew as 106 KIAS. During the approach, the tower controller (LC) gave the option for the flight to circle to land or continue straight in to runway 30. LC advised that the winds were from 050-070 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 20 knots, and runway braking action was reported as fair to poor by a snow plow. Radar data indicates that the airplane had a ground speed in excess of 200 knots between the final approach fix and runway threshold and a full-scale localizer deviation 5.5 nm from the localizer antenna. The company did not have stabilized approach criteria establishing when a missed approach or go-around is to be executed. The captain stated that he was unaware that there was 0.7 percent downslope on runway 30. The company provided a page from their airport directory which did not indicate a slope present for runway 30. The publisher of the airport directory provided a page valid at the time of the accident showing a 0.7 percent runway slope. Runway slope is used in the determination of runway performance for transport category aircraft such as the MU-300. The airplane operating manual states that MU-300 landing performance on ice or snow covered runways has not been determined. The airplane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder with a remote cockpit erasure control. Readout of the cockpit voice recorder indicated a repetitive thumping noise consistent with manual erasure. No notices to airman pertaining to runway conditions were issued by the airport prior to the accident.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,500 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 80 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 10,000 as pilot in command; 4,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 31, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,575 hours in all; 275 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 590 as pilot in command; 295 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 12, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,078.4 hours
- Maximum gross weight: 15,500 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney JT15D-4D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney JT15D-4D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Corporate Flight Management INC
The flight
- Departed from: MEM Memphis TN at 1:00 pm
- Destination: AID Anderson IN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30, 5,401 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 2.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,300 ft; clear
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 12:45 pm from AID
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 N617BG 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.