Beech BE90C accident near Fort Wayne, Indiana, October 24, 1983
On October 24, 1983 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Beech BE90C, registered N4TS, was destroyed in an accident near Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was a ferry flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 24, 1983 · about 9:15 pm local time · cases in 1983
- Place
- Fort Wayne, Indiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE90C
- Registration
- N4TS · registry record · serial LJ541
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Ferry flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT 1604 EST, THE ACFT DEPARTED FORT WAYNE ON A FERRY FLT. IFR CONDITIONS PREVAILED & THE PLT HAD FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN. WHILE CLIMBING AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PLT PASSED HIS ASSIGNED ALT OF 2500 FT MSL & FLEW TO 4200 FT. ALSO, HE FAILED TO TURN TO HIS INITIAL ASSIGNED HEADING OF 130 DEG. HE HAD PROBLEMS CONTACTING DEPARTURE CONTROL AS HE WAS NOT ON THE ASSIGNED FREQ. HE REPORTED PROBLEMS WITH HIS HEADING INDICATOR & HIS 'GYRO'. SHORTLY AFTER HIS LAST TRANSMISSION, THE ACFT LEFT 4200 FT MSL & CRASHED IN A STEEP DIVE. BEFORE TAKEOFF, THE ATP PLT REPORTED HE HAD FLOWN ALL KING AIR ACFT & WAS CURRENTLY FLYING THE BEECH 200. A REVIEW OF HIS LAST LOG BOOK REVEALED OVER 2000 HRS IN THE BEECH 200, BUT SHOWED NO TIME IN THE BEECH C90. A WITNESS THAT REVIEWED THE ACFT WITH THE PLT BEFORE THE FLT BELIEVED HE (THE PLT) WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE ACFT SYSTEMS. DURING AN INSPECTION OF THE WRECKAGE, NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND TO VERIFY A PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE OF THE ACFT OR ENG. ALL INSTRUMENTS WERE DESTROYED.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,980 hours in all; 182 in the last 90 days; 64 in the last 30 days; 18,709 as pilot in command; 4,465 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,821 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 20, 1983; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,650 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-6/C20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FWA Ft. Wayne IN at 9:10 pm
- Destination: TUL Tulsa IN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded at 400 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from FWA, 8 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N4TS on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Beechcraft 6 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P&W PT6A-6/C20 2,218 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Fort Wayne International · departed from
- Tulsa International · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Indiana 1,367 since 1982 · 179 in the last ten years
- Indiana 5,702 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CHI84FA028.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.