Beech 58 accident near Detroit, Michigan, February 23, 1983
On February 23, 1983 at about 2:35 am local time, a Beech 58, registered N58WA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Detroit, Michigan (Detroit City airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. 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
- February 23, 1983 · about 2:35 am local time
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan · Detroit City · 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 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N58WA · no longer on the register · serial TH201
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING ARRIVAL, THE PLT RECEIVED VECTORS FOR AN ILS APPROACH. HE ELECTED TO MAKE A LOCALIZER ONLY APPROACH. AT THE OUTER MARKER, THE ACFT WAS APRX 200 FT ABOVE THE MINIMUM ALTITUDE & ABOVE THE APPROACH SPEED. THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE REDUCED THE AIRSPEED DURING THE DESCENT & VISUALLY ACQUIRED THE RWY ENVIRONMENT APRX 1 1/2 OUT. ACCORDING TO THE PLT, HE TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 1/3 OF THE WAY DOWN THE RWY. OTHER WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN AT OR BEYOND THE MIDPOINT. THE WIND WAS CALM & THE RWY WAS WET. AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THE PLT APPLIED BRAKES, BUT REPORTED THAT THE ACFT FELT LIKE IT WAS ON ICE. AS HE APPROACHED THE END OF THE RWY, HE TRIED TO STEAR TO THE LEFT TO AVOID THE LOCALIZER ANTENNA, BUT ACFT HIT THE LEFT PORTION OF THE ANTENNA.
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; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,544 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 216 in the last 90 days; 2,368 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,483 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: M8S Saginaw MI at 2:05 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 15, 5,090 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 am from DET
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.